AgGrad99 said:

---

Why do their citizens at events like this, always look like NPCs?

---

I think you know why

AgGrad99 said:

---

Why do their citizens at events like this, always look like NPCs?

---

Because they are thanks to 80 years of communist programming.

Sims said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

Timeline is out to 2049 indicated by that tweet and what Oreily is saying general lines up with the Donroe doctrine.

China decouples from South America, picks up the slack in "governance" for the hooligans they depend on rather than free-riding the US security blanket, US is given a runway to decouple from Taiwan.

So many would say "not another mid east war" and at the same time defend Taiwan from China. That's mostly correct, today. We don't need the oil. We do need the chip capacity. 5 years from now, that landscape looks completely different.

---

Agreed. It's just further evolution of the bipolar world order we are heading towards with the US running the western hemisphere and China wanting to run the east.

Additional quote on this thought:

Quote:

---

Still, each side is trying to reduce dependence on the other without rupturing the relationship that makes both economies work. The competitive backdrop sharpened this week with the release by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, right before Trump's departure, of a new assessment on China's industrial strategy. It argues that the "window for effective policy response" to China's state-led economic model "is narrowing." The timingfrom the U.S.'s largest business-lobbying groupwas a pointed reminder that the case for managed separation has only grown stronger.

---

YouBet said:

---

Sims said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

Timeline is out to 2049 indicated by that tweet and what Oreily is saying general lines up with the Donroe doctrine.

China decouples from South America, picks up the slack in "governance" for the hooligans they depend on rather than free-riding the US security blanket, US is given a runway to decouple from Taiwan.

So many would say "not another mid east war" and at the same time defend Taiwan from China. That's mostly correct, today. We don't need the oil. We do need the chip capacity. 5 years from now, that landscape looks completely different.

---

Agreed. It's just further evolution of the bipolar world order we are heading towards with the US running the western hemisphere and China wanting to run the east.

Additional quote on this thought:

Quote:

---

Still, each side is trying to reduce dependence on the other without rupturing the relationship that makes both economies work. The competitive backdrop sharpened this week with the release by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, right before Trump's departure, of a new assessment on China's industrial strategy. It argues that the "window for effective policy response" to China's state-led economic model "is narrowing." The timingfrom the U.S.'s largest business-lobbying groupwas a pointed reminder that the case for managed separation has only grown stronger.

---

---

Well…it's a good thing Asia isn't an innovation hub and ceding Korea, Japan, Singapore in exchange for Mexico, Canada, and Venezuela.

K2-HMFIC said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

There are arguments for not making the defense of Taiwan central to our strategy in the WestPac. But I haven't seen many arguments for not selling them weapons to defend themselves.

---

Trump is also required under the Taiwan Relations Act to keep selling weapons to Taiwan for self defense.

MGS said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

"Required". Who is going to force him?

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

There are arguments for not making the defense of Taiwan central to our strategy in the WestPac. But I haven't seen many arguments for not selling them weapons to defend themselves.

---

Trump is also required under the Taiwan Relations Act to keep selling weapons to Taiwan for self defense.

---

"Required". Who is going to force him should he decide otherwise?

Rossticus said:

---

MGS said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

"Required". Who is going to force him?

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

There are arguments for not making the defense of Taiwan central to our strategy in the WestPac. But I haven't seen many arguments for not selling them weapons to defend themselves.

---

Trump is also required under the Taiwan Relations Act to keep selling weapons to Taiwan for self defense.

---

---

It still requires his approval…

K2-HMFIC said:

---

Rossticus said:

---

MGS said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

"Required". Who is going to force him?

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

There are arguments for not making the defense of Taiwan central to our strategy in the WestPac. But I haven't seen many arguments for not selling them weapons to defend themselves.

---

Trump is also required under the Taiwan Relations Act to keep selling weapons to Taiwan for self defense.

---

---

It still requires his approval…

---

My post was deleted from the quote. Mobile gIitch, I think. I had to re-add it. We're on the same page.

Trump wil get $1 Trillion from China

Sims said:

---

---

I spat out my drink

Happy for Jimmy Lai, sad if true we are sending that traitorous Democrat back.

💥Urgent Update:

Xi Jinping’s team and President Trump’s advance team have reached an agreement to allow Jimmy Lai to leave prison on medical parole. The condition is that Xi Jinping demands the return of Eilleen Wang to China.

Eilleen Wang has already resigned from her… https://t.co/JKIeKq0nP6 pic.twitter.com/qn5hgCyIiQ

— Inconvenient Truths — Jennifer Zeng Reports (@jenniferzeng97) May 12, 2026

K2-HMFIC said:

---

YouBet said:

---

Sims said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

Timeline is out to 2049 indicated by that tweet and what Oreily is saying general lines up with the Donroe doctrine.

China decouples from South America, picks up the slack in "governance" for the hooligans they depend on rather than free-riding the US security blanket, US is given a runway to decouple from Taiwan.

So many would say "not another mid east war" and at the same time defend Taiwan from China. That's mostly correct, today. We don't need the oil. We do need the chip capacity. 5 years from now, that landscape looks completely different.

---

Agreed. It's just further evolution of the bipolar world order we are heading towards with the US running the western hemisphere and China wanting to run the east.

Additional quote on this thought:

Quote:

---

Still, each side is trying to reduce dependence on the other without rupturing the relationship that makes both economies work. The competitive backdrop sharpened this week with the release by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, right before Trump's departure, of a new assessment on China's industrial strategy. It argues that the "window for effective policy response" to China's state-led economic model "is narrowing." The timingfrom the U.S.'s largest business-lobbying groupwas a pointed reminder that the case for managed separation has only grown stronger.

---

---

Well…it's a good thing Asia isn't an innovation hub and ceding Korea, Japan, Singapore in exchange for Mexico, Canada, and Venezuela.

---

Reason I distinguished between us running the western hemisphere and China wanting to run theirs is because Japan, SK, and others are developed countries that won't capitulate to China. They all hate each other over there and would likely genocide each other if they could get away with it.

Thus, we being the power in the west and consolidating that power is much more of a sure bet than China being the same over there. And then we would maintain strategic alliances that matter there because they all hate China while China has nothing here.

She should be executed. That sucks.

It may be very fake news, sorry. Not a good source.

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

I made the comment when the war with Iran started it was going to torpedo our relationships with ally's in Asia - Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, etc. Hate to pat myself on the back for this prediction, though it was pretty obvious if you didn't have your blinders on, but if this rumor is true, it's an absolutely horrible trade off. We're trading much, if not all of our clout in Asia and ceding more to China, for some tiny vassal/welfare state, in Israel.

Lots of people, mostly complete idiots, argued the war in Iran was actually 4D chess to make China weaker, looks like it's going to make them stronger.

BigRobSA said:

---

Tailgate88 said:

---

He took an awful lot of VIPs and CEOs with him. There is a reason for that.

---

Go on......

---

A couple things I've read ...

Most Americans still think geopolitics is politicians giving speeches at podiums.

That’s the old world.

What President Trump is doing in Beijing right now is something entirely different:

Using CORPORATE POWER as a geopolitical weapon.

Look at the delegation he assembled for… pic.twitter.com/SUnEdLgtmE

— AJ Inapi (Allan) (@aj_inapi) May 13, 2026

Quote:

---

Most Americans still think geopolitics is politicians giving speeches at podiums.

That's the old world.

What President Trump is doing in Beijing right now is something entirely different:

Using CORPORATE POWER as a geopolitical weapon.

Look at the delegation he assembled for China:

Elon Musk - Tesla / SpaceX
Tim Cook - Apple
Jensen Huang - Nvidia
Larry Fink - BlackRock
Stephen Schwarzman - Blackstone
David Solomon - Goldman Sachs
Jane Fraser - Citigroup
Kelly Ortberg - Boeing
H. Lawrence Culp Jr. - GE Aerospace
Brian Sikes - Cargill
Cristiano Amon - Qualcomm
Sanjay Mehrotra - Micron Technology
Ryan McInerney - Visa
Michael Miebach - Mastercard
Dina Powell McCormick - Meta

This is not diplomacy.

This is strategic market penetration.

Now look at HOW carefully this lineup was built:

AI & CHIP DOMINANCE

Jensen Huang (Nvidia)
AI chips powering the global AI revolution

Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm)
Mobile chips, telecommunications, next-gen connectivity

Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron)
Memory chips critical for AI systems and data centers

Jim Anderson (Coherent)
Semiconductor materials and industrial laser tech

Jacob Thaysen (Illumina)
Biotechnology and genomic technology leadership

This category alone represents the future of AI, computing, biotech, and technological supremacy.

FINANCIAL POWER

Larry Fink (BlackRock)
Controls over $10 TRILLION in assets

Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone)
One of the world's largest private equity giants

David Solomon (Goldman Sachs)
Elite Wall Street investment banking influence

Jane Fraser (Citigroup)
Global banking and cross-border finance

Ryan McInerney (Visa)
Global payment rails

Michael Miebach (Mastercard)
International transaction infrastructure

These people don't just move money.

They influence where capital flows across the planet.

CONSUMER TECH & SUPPLY CHAINS

Tim Cook (Apple)
One of the largest and most sophisticated supply chains on Earth

Elon Musk (Tesla / SpaceX)
EV manufacturing, batteries, AI robotics, satellites, launch systems

China knows these companies are deeply tied into global manufacturing ecosystems.

AEROSPACE & INDUSTRIAL POWER

Kelly Ortberg (Boeing)
Potential aircraft deals worth tens of billions

H. Lawrence Culp Jr. (GE Aerospace)
Aircraft engines and aerospace systems

This is industrial leverage at the highest level.

AGRICULTURE & REAL ECONOMY

Brian Sikes (Cargill)
Agriculture, food supply chains, commodity trade

Food security and agricultural imports are massive leverage points in U.S.-China relations.

Now step back and look at the entire picture.

This delegation covers:

- AI
- Semiconductors
- Aerospace
- Finance
- Payments
- Agriculture
- Consumer technology
- Manufacturing
- Supply chains
- Investment capital

Every major economic battlefield between the United States and China is represented in one room.

That is not random.

That is coordinated strategic planning.

The media will frame this as "just another summit."

It's not.

This is a private-sector strike force built to secure:

- Market access
- Investment deals
- Supply-chain positioning
- Regulatory concessions
- Tech leverage
- Aircraft purchases
- Agricultural agreements
- Financial expansion

The politicians are mostly in the background because politicians talk.

These people actually control:

- factories
- chips
- satellites
- patents
- software
- logistics
- payment systems
- manufacturing
- capital flows

That is where real power lives in 2026.

Whether people love Trump or hate him, Americans need to understand the scale of what they're looking at.

This is statecraft merged with corporate power.

And it's being deployed with military-level coordination.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

God bless President Trump!
God bless America!

---

This from Robert Kiyosaki on Facebook (Rich Dad/Poor Dad guy...actually has some interesting posts. Assuming it's really him.)

Quote:

---

TRUMP JUST LANDED IN BEIJING WITH 17 AMERICAN CEOS.

TIM COOK. ELON MUSK. LARRY FINK. JAMIE DIMON.

THIS IS A NEGOTIATION. AND THE GIFTS ARE THE CEOS.

Let me explain what is actually happening in Beijing right now.

Because every headline is focused on the handshake.

Nobody is explaining what is on the table underneath it.

When a head of state travels to a diplomatic summit he brings diplomats. Foreign policy advisors. National security officials.

Trump brought the CEO of Apple.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

The chairman of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager with $10 trillion under management.

The CEO of JP Morgan.

The heads of Meta. Boeing. Cargill.

17 American CEOs in total.

The delegation includes Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Larry Fink of BlackRock, and top executives from JP Morgan, Meta, Boeing, Cargill, and other major American corporations.

You do not bring the most powerful private sector leaders in the world to a foreign capital unless their presence is the message.

---

Here is what China wants.

China's economy is under serious pressure.

- Real GDP growth near 1% in late 2025.
- Property sector collapsed.
- Consumer confidence at multi-decade lows.
- Export prices falling.
- Youth unemployment elevated.
- The economic miracle is losing momentum.

What China needs to restart growth is exactly what is sitting in that room in Beijing.

American investment capital. Apple's manufacturing partnerships. Tesla's technology. BlackRock's access to global capital markets. Boeing's aerospace contracts. JP Morgan's financial infrastructure.

China cannot get these things through its own economy right now.

But it can negotiate for them.

And Trump just walked through the door carrying all of them.

---

Here is what Trump needs.

One thing.

For China to stop helping Iran.

Because here is the military reality most people do not understand.

Iran has missiles. Iran has drones. Iran has cruise missiles.

But Iran does not know where to aim them without external intelligence.

Chinese ships in the Arabian Sea have been providing real-time radar and satellite data to Iranian forces.

Russian targeting intelligence has been directing Iranian strikes.

US intelligence confirmed Chinese satellite imagery was being used by the IRGC to track American and allied military positions.

Iran's military effectiveness is not Iranian. It is Chinese eyes and Russian brains operating Iranian weapons.

Cut that intelligence wire and Iran is fighting blind.

Trump cannot cut that wire with threats.

China has already absorbed 145% tariffs. China has already faced technology restrictions. China has already been sanctioned in multiple sectors.

None of it moved Beijing.

But Tim Cook walking into a room in Beijing and offering to expand Apple's manufacturing presence in China by a billion dollars that moves Beijing.

That is what seventeen CEOs in one delegation actually means.

The gifts are the leverage.

---

Now here is the price China will extract.

Beijing is not a charity. It is the most sophisticated transactional state in the world.

Asian nations are openly worried that Trump might trade away security commitments to Taiwan in exchange for better economic terms with China.

Taiwan has been watching this summit with more anxiety than any country on earth.

The Trump administration has already held up a major arms sale to Taiwan for months ahead of this summit.

China will want investment. Technology access. Tariff reductions. And something on Taiwan.

It will not say the word Taiwan out loud in the room.

It will not need to.

Both sides know exactly which chip has the most value.

---

There is one more person in Beijing this week that nobody is discussing.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Beijing within 24 hours of Trump.

Putin is not in the room.

But his most senior diplomat is.

And Lavrov knows everything that happens in that room through channels that have operated between Beijing and Moscow for decades.

Putin's message to Trump has been consistent throughout this war.

Keep a light hand on Ukraine. We keep a light hand on Iran.

That offer was on the table months ago. Trump said no.

It may be back on the table in Beijing.

With Xi in the room as the witness and the guarantor.

This is going to be interesting.

---

They may look stronger, but empirically, China is getting markedly weaker from most consensus metrics. GDP growth rate, internal consumption, debt to gdp, capital controls to limit capital flight, employment, population age distribution, foreign direct capital investment is at decades low, fertility rates near the lowest on earth, total factor productivity

Many are quick to say OMG what a desperate place the US is in and in the same breath show China as some paragon worthy of admiration.

Supply chain dominance is still China's overbearing strength on the world stage so it is exactly the right place for Trump to put his thumb on the scale and say, "Look what we could do to your supply chains..." Particularly in light of the fact that China doesn't have bluewater capability to intervene in Hormuz itself.

Not a justifcation, just commentary. It doesn't make China stronger, but it does point out the glaring areas in which they need to build redundancy. The catch is, they've known it for decades and hoped noone ever had the balls to flex on it.

Sims said:

---

They may look stronger, but empirically, China is getting markedly weaker from most consensus metrics. GDP growth rate, internal consumption, debt to gdp, capital controls to limit capital flight, employment, population age distribution, foreign direct capital investment is at decades low, fertility rates near the lowest on earth, total factor productivity

Many are quick to say OMG what a desperate place the US is in and in the same breath show China as some paragon worthy of admiration.

Supply chain dominance is still China's overbearing strength on the world stage so it is exactly the right place for Trump to put his thumb on the scale and say, "Look what we could do to your supply chains..." Particularly in light of the fact that China doesn't have bluewater capability to intervene in Hormuz itself.

Not a justifcation, just commentary. It doesn't make China stronger, but it does point out the glaring areas in which they need to build redundancy. The catch is, they've known it for decades and hoped noone ever had the balls to flex on it.

---

If the US has to use China, diplomatically, to get us out of a mess we/Israel started, it definitely makes us weaker on the world stage and China stronger. If we have to trade our ally, in Taiwan, to make it happen, what do you think that signals to everyone else in the region? We already moved a number of our missile systems that protect Taiwan out of the region and into the ME to protect Israel. At an absolute minimum, it is a horrible look for the US if we have to give up Taiwan or cut some deal with China, to open the straight up and end the war with Iran.

Setting your reframe of my point aside, some items worth parsing...

With respect to missile systems, Taiwan is on track to having the highest density of air defense missiles on the planet. PAC-3 MSE, Sky Bow III, Strong Bow

China is the one pushing to be seen as a mediator, not us pushing because we need China to be such. China's achilles in the whole situation is their oil imports. To the extent that Trump's political vulnerability because of oil prices outweighs China's vulnerability to a cessation of oil supply... we'll see since neither side has unlimited runway. They have reserves of oil likely in excess of what Trump has in political capital. I think China is Trump's pragmatic offramp nonetheless.

If we were to exchange anything for Taiwan, i would start with addressing all IP issues across China. They have to show adherence from day one to 2049 respecting and enforcing international law. Then dropping support of everything in the western hemisphere. Then dropping support for NK. Maybe we throw in NZ and Aus as American satellites since the UK can't even protect their own coastline.

Sid Farkas said:

---

China gets access to advanced AI chips. And in return, intervenes to resolve the Iran crisis.

---

Nope. Shut them out of the modern world.

I didn't reframe anything. You framed China's strength in only economic terms. I am speaking in diplomatic terms.

We still moved weapons systems out of Taiwan and the pacific - deterrence for China - and into Israel. Bad signal.

If we trade some type of chips deal, or even worse, our ally in Taiwan, for some closure to the Iran war, that would make it pretty obvious we wanted a deal and not the other way around. Again, bad signal.

BlackGold said:

---

I didn't reframe anything. You framed China's strength in only economic terms. I am speaking in diplomatic terms.

We still moved weapons systems out of Taiwan and the pacific - deterrence for China - and into Israel. Bad signal.

If we trade some type of chips deal, or even worse, our ally in Taiwan, for some closure to the Iran war, that would make it pretty obvious we wanted a deal and not the other way around. Again, bad signal.

---

If Trump is as seriously desperate for deals as he appears to be, he has a very weak bargaining stance and China will push that to their advantage.

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

YouBet said:

---

Sims said:

---

YouBet said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

will25u said:

---

Bill O’Reilly just revealed he spoke directly with Chinese officials — and what he says is coming next could have massive implications for the Trump administration.

According to O’Reilly, China is signaling it may help pressure Iran…but there’s a catch.

O’REILLY: “I did talk… pic.twitter.com/s7Dqv4ILuP

— Overton (@overton_news) May 13, 2026

---

And there we go…


Is the admin is going to trade Taiwan for Iran?

Because if so, the responses on this board trying to justify it will be wild.

---

Would be horrifically stupid to do that now, but I've always maintained what I said earlier....once we mitigate need for Taiwan's chip manufacturing then they are no longer strategically relevant to us. At that point, it's just a philosophical debate.

Which is why if I'm Taiwanese I'm doing everything I can to leave that country and move here.

---

Timeline is out to 2049 indicated by that tweet and what Oreily is saying general lines up with the Donroe doctrine.

China decouples from South America, picks up the slack in "governance" for the hooligans they depend on rather than free-riding the US security blanket, US is given a runway to decouple from Taiwan.

So many would say "not another mid east war" and at the same time defend Taiwan from China. That's mostly correct, today. We don't need the oil. We do need the chip capacity. 5 years from now, that landscape looks completely different.

---

Agreed. It's just further evolution of the bipolar world order we are heading towards with the US running the western hemisphere and China wanting to run the east.

Additional quote on this thought:

Quote:

---

Still, each side is trying to reduce dependence on the other without rupturing the relationship that makes both economies work. The competitive backdrop sharpened this week with the release by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, right before Trump's departure, of a new assessment on China's industrial strategy. It argues that the "window for effective policy response" to China's state-led economic model "is narrowing." The timingfrom the U.S.'s largest business-lobbying groupwas a pointed reminder that the case for managed separation has only grown stronger.

---

---

Well…it's a good thing Asia isn't an innovation hub and ceding Korea, Japan, Singapore in exchange for Mexico, Canada, and Venezuela.

---

Reason I distinguished between us running the western hemisphere and China wanting to run theirs is because Japan, SK, and others are developed countries that won't capitulate to China. They all hate each other over there and would likely genocide each other if they could get away with it.

Thus, we being the power in the west and consolidating that power is much more of a sure bet than China being the same over there. And then we would maintain strategic alliances that matter there because they all hate China while China has nothing here.

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I know nothing of East Asian politics, but my Korean father in law has been b*tching the last few visits about how left-wing and "pro-China" and "pro-NK" current leadership is over there.

Tailgate88 said:

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He took an awful lot of VIPs and CEOs with him. There is a reason for that.

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He likely wants people with him who understand how to do business with China (Musk, Cook, etc.). Whether they use that experience to help Trump advocate for everyday Americans, or rather to ensure their companies get a cut of whatever agreements come out of the summit remains to be seen.

This 2049 superpower goal date for China is interesting because the de-population models show 2050 is peak population for them. And many think they already have peaked and are already heading downwards.

YouBet said:

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This 2049 superpower goal date for China is interesting because the de-population models show 2050 is peak population for them. And many think they already have peaked and are already heading downwards.

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Managing PRC decline over the next two decades is likely America's biggest foreign policy challenge.

You familiar with the Davidson Window? Admiral Davidson was the former PACOM Com and he postulated that the greatest threat is in the late twenties as that would be the point the CCP realized that was their last best chance to invade TWN.

Well, that was a luck, coming up on a pep rally.

I don't think Trump appears to be desperate for deals. He always has the same negotiation tactics.

Biz Ag said:

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President XI, you say?

I wonder if Ilhan Omar refers to him as President 11?

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I bet she thinks so highly of Xi knowing Apple named an iPhone after him

Do Trump likey egg roll