The Red Dragon Has Spread Wings and Is Flying

Originally appeared at A-specto, translated by Borislav exclusively for SouthFront

China has become an insurmountable factor in world politics. According to IMF data, China reached a GDP of 19.3 trillion dollars in 2015, which is 17% of the world’s GDP. In comparison, the US has 15.7%, EU – 14 8%, Russia – 3.2%. On Chinese territory is located 1/5 of the world’s production capacity and 17.5% of the world population. Every year, China sends on water, 766 million tons gross tonnage of their ships, which is 45.1% of the global volume. China produces 46% of the global production of aluminum, 47% of the coal, 49% of the extraction of iron ore, 54% of the production of cast iron, 60% of the world’s production of cement. Every seventh mobile phone out of ten and every ninth PC is Chinese-made. China has long been one of the leading forces in high technology. On August 16, 2016 Beijing sent into orbit a satellite for quantum connection that so far has no analogue.

China long floated like an iceberg, 9/10th of which is submerged under water. Today, its dimensions are so huge that one can not help but notice its geopolitical gravity. China is “present” on any point of our planet. Economic, political, cultural, and more recently, China’s military power has acquired dimensions that should not be neglected by the major players in international relations. In Bulgaria many people still do not realize the global Chinese project called the “economic belt of the Silk Road”. If Beijing manages to realize it, then in China itself over 200 million people, and about 400-500 million people in Southeast Asia will form a secure middle class. The Chinese economy will get its own stable market that will exceed the current of Europe US together five times. At the G-20 forum in China, Iran confirmed its intention to participate in the construction of the “Silk Road”. In recent months, Tehran and Beijing are actively expanding their cooperation efforts in different areas. China and Iran are discussing not only the land but also the sea route. Considering the current geopolitical environment, namely the maritime “Silk Road” will have to become the major one: from Iran – in the Red Sea – Suez Canal and beyond – Greece, the port of Piraeus.

We can see the desire of transnational corporations to block the “Silk Road” along the route Turkey – Iran. The sponsor and executor of the contract is Saudi Arabia. According to a report on the TV channel “Al-Manar”, the Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman offered 500,000 dollars reward to performers of a terrorist act in Iran. Riyadh has another reason to intensify its battle with Tehran. Yemeni missiles type “Berkan 1” struck the oil-rich Saudi province of Taif, which is at a distance of 700 km. inside Saudi territory. The Yemeni rocket was manufactured ​​based on the missiles ‘Scud’, which have a range exceeding 800 kilometers. That is to say, Yemenis can strike Riyadh, when they want. Of course, without the assistance of Iranian specialists, the missiles “Berkan 1” would never be in Yemen. The Chinese have in mind that there will be tensions on the route of the “Silk Road”, the Saudis and Iranians will fight. Therefore, Tehran is trying to take the war, on to the territory of the Saudis.

The G20 forum in China did not demonstrate some kind of impressive real results. However after it, the world realized that there is a new political reality. A reality, in which the global hegemony of the United States is already history. The forum itself is more like a testimonial to the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He invited plenty of guests to the summit, from countries not included in the G20, but who play a noticeable role in the world or in their regions. In this respect Asia particularly stood out with its presence. There was a lot of symbolism on the boat trip on Lake Suzhou. The rudder of the vessel was entrusted to the hands of Xi Jinping.

U.S. President Barack Obama attends the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Nicolas Asfonri/Pool

Particular attention caused the extremely humiliating welcome Barack Obama got at the Chinese airport. There were different explanations for what caused the embarrassment. But nobody blamed China, which is known for its strict attitude to rituals and traditions. It’s not typical for the Chinese to provocatively humiliate its opponents. The American side had attempted to ignore the embarrassing way Barack Obama was met. The descent of the American president from the rear of the plane, suggests that at the bottom of the incident are conflicts between opposing groups in the United States. An important detail is that after the welcoming mess, the USA’s military intelligence wrote on Twitter a mocking text addressed to China. Immediately after, the text was removed and an excuse followed. One version is that at the landing of the US aircraft, the Chinese took into account the waiting line which was formed by the other guests of the forum, and Obama had to wait. Technological time was needed to organize a greeting by the protocol. The Americans don’t have the habit of waiting and are known for their blatant arrogance in such situations. They wait for no one. That’s what benefited the Chinese who welcomed Barack Obama without the normal procedures. Another possibility is that the Chinese side probably expected such a development. The Americans with their guileless and honest arrogance are often predictable enough.

The issue of the “humiliation” of Barack Obama was not the main focus of the US president’s stay in China. Another detail is also significant. During the stay of Barack Obama at the G-20, nobody treated the American president with any preference, as was the norm before. That’s the very subtle humiliation of the Chinese diplomatic protocol. Complete equality to the visiting dignitary.

Another symbolic moment during the forum was the meeting of Vladimir Putin with the British Prime Minister. Some media stressed that Theresa May was so dissatisfied with Moscow’s policy, that she insisted to meet with the Russian president. She “forgot” to formally congratulate Vladimir Putin at the beginning of the meeting. The Russian president noted that “omission” and unobtrusively correct it. From the comments in the global media, it looks like the British are once again teaching the Russians how to live. This could be the truth only if we ignore the fact that the meeting was initiated by London. Theresa May appeared at the meeting wearing a red dress, that was reminiscent of the one that Kate Middleton wore (wife of Prince William), during a solemn dinner at Buckingham Palace for Xi Jinping. Chinese color symbolism.

Obviously, the comments in the media greatly differ from the actual conversation between Vladimir Putin and Theresa May. The Englishwoman is rather trying to formally attract Russia to the Sino-British alliance. Putin supports the project, but as before, he prefers to remain slightly apart from a formal membership. China itself is no longer able to distance itself from the British project, in which it is the protagonist. Seeing what Russia and China are doing, analysts are left with the impression that the Russians and Chinese are coordinating their joint strategy. Apparently, China wishes to retain a certain autonomy in relation to London with the help of Moscow. And Russia does not mind. For Beijing, it is an existential question. Xi Jinping has no problem to publicly announce China’s interest of a comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia.

The key words by Vladimir Putin at the G-20, was the appeal for “de-offshorization of the global economy.” This is a blow to transnational corporations by the nation state. This is in the interest of all countries, even in the interest of the American country. If this move is implemented, it will lead to total ruin of transnational corporations and their funds will become the property of the nations, and will serve to repay the government debts. Delicate situation for the United States. They are simultaneously the largest offshore, and the largest debtor. China and Russia will benefit from de-offshorization, and the US will fill its budget with huge amounts that will pay most of the debts they owe to creditors. Among the players who could potentially lose is Britain. The English, who are outstanding strategists, realized a Brexit and for ten years already, they bring their capital out of the shade and even deliberately ruin their offshore zones. Opponents of de-offshorization remain the big transnational corporations of the United States in the face of the political and economic symbiosis, Rockefeller-Clinton.

Therefore, if Hillary Clinton wins the presidential election, the world will be on the eve of a series of conflicts – from corporate and local, to a global war. The world is at a crossroads. This battle can not have two winners simultaneously. Either global transnational corporations will finally crush the sovereignty of nations and the world will become a global market, and corporate rules and profits will become more important than the state rules and laws, and the plunder the planet will continue until complete exhaustion of resources. Or nations will take revenge and regain what was stolen over the past two centuries by transnational corporations. A large part of the US elite understands that most likely countries will have their revenge. The coup in Brazil can be analyzed by the above. Dilma Rousseff was replaced with a candidate of the United States. This is an attempt to enter into the future club of the select, which are formed in the shape BRICS. It is no coincidence that the G20 meeting began with the informal forum of BRICS. The overall tone in bilateral and multilateral meetings in China suggests that the world as a whole, is ready to move toward collective responsibility, determination of zones of influence, forming a new financial system, and a focus on economic activity in the Pacific region. Most countries at least, are for this path of development in the world. Which makes global war less likely.