Locator: 48673CHINA.
For me, the top issues facing the United States, right now:
- the US debt
- US Supreme Court fails to get a handle on federal judges overstepping their constitutional bounds
- existing immigration laws not enforced; "border security" is lost.
- the growing Muslim population in the US:
- lack of assimilation; a lack of acculturation; lack of cultural integration;
- allowing Sharia law to take hold in jurisdictions below the state level;
- there are already two fatwas with regard to the US president;
- EU regulators wreak havoc on US companies through economic blackmail
- California defaults
- Texas turns "blue"
- Trump's tax policies get reversed by future administrations
- Trump's "green energy policies" get reversed by future administrations
- NATO fails to adjust to new world order
- US annexes Canada
The top three above are the top three in any order. The bottom seven are the bottom seven, again in any order.
China does not make the top ten list of issues facing the United States.
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CHINA
Geo-Political Headline Of The Day (Year?)
Updates
July 6, 2025: the NYT has had one article on this story, link here. The NYT does not mention that Xi won't be attending the summit in Rio de Janeiro and what that means for BRICS. Other than that, I found it a pretty good article.
July 5, 2025: Iran is isolated. Looks for BRICS to get help. BRICS won't touch Iran. Link here.
Original Post
Headline is here (above) but the story will have to be found elsewhere. It will be interesting how The NYT covers this story.
Woody Allen, or some such wag, once said, 90% of life is showing up." Xi did not even show up at the BRICS summit where he would be "top dog."
Compare that with Trump's visit to the Mideast before the B-2s. He took a dozen billionaires, including the wealthiest man in the world, and brokered dozens of deals across the region. Even had Xi shown up at the BRICS summit he would have had none of Trump's money, tech billionaires, or gravitas. In many ways, Xi would have looked like a small man among other small men (and women).
But this is huge, Xi not even attending the summit. Of course, he had nothing to offer, but it does raise questions:
- short term:
- is Xi ill?
- is Xi's hold on China weakening?
- did Trump re-write the geo-political reality in the Mideast?
- long term:
- is China blowing off talks of a BRICS comeback, or this simply a bump in the road?
- is BRICS dead; if not, is the C in BRICS going to have to be changed to ... let's say ... Canada?
If India is the "I" in BRICS, it also suggests the China's Belt and Road Initiative is dying, if not already dead.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) or the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy launched by China in 2013. It aims to connect Asia, Europe, and Africa through land-based and maritime networks (think India), promoting trade, investment, and economic cooperation.
The "One Belt One Road (OBOR)" initiative is not to be confused with the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).
