Why US Allies Are Moving to China
What if I told you the biggest shift in
global politics right now isn't
happening through wars, but quietly
through America's closest allies moving
away from the United States and pivoting
to China. They say a picture is worth a
thousand words. And this one matters
because in just January 2026 alone, no
fewer than six of America's closest
allies, including France, South Korea,
Ireland, Canada, Finland, and now the
United Kingdom, have sent their national
leaders directly to Beijing to sign
record-breaking new trade deals with
China. And all of this is happening
despite Donald Trump openly threatening
more tariffs, more trade wars, and
economic punishment for any country that
chooses to move closer to Beijing. So,
the obvious question is why is this
happening? Why are America's closest
allies now willing to risk retaliation
from Washington and pivot toward China
How the Global World Order Collapsed
anyway? Well, the answer isn't simple.
But to truly understand what this shift
means for the future of global power, we
need to rewind to September 2023 when
then Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin
said something remarkably revealing.
Something that helps explain everything
we're seeing unfold right now. When the
Beijings and Moscows of the world try to
rewrite or rip down the pillars of the
multinateral system. When they falsely
claim that the order exists merely to
advance the interests of the West at the
expense of the rest, a growing global
course of nations and people will say
and stand up to say no. You see, Blinken
was trying to warn us that only
countries like China and Russia would
announce the international rules-based
order is not working. But just 28 months
later, it was surprisingly Canada,
America's closest and most important
trading partner who acknowledged this
forbidden truth at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The one
line that I simply can't forget from
Mark Carney's speech was, "We are in the
midst of a rupture, not a transition."
And when I explained to you this new
trade deal between the UK and China,
you're going to see how fast things are
Have Trump Tariffs Worked?
changing. It's no secret that tariffs
have been Trump's favorite method to
apply American force and power on
countries around the world. And leading
into Davos, Trump threatened European
allies with additional tariffs if they
blocked America's efforts to gain access
to Greenland. Trump stood on stage and
essentially announced to the world, "We
own the system, and you must do as we
say, but nobody is buying this anymore
in 2026." The signs have been taken out
of the window, as Prime Minister Carney
explained, linking American hegemony to
the fall of the Soviet Union. But now
China's Goal for the World
let's contrast this with the message
from China's government when Hiang,
China's vice premier, opened his speech
by saying, "It gives me great pleasure
to join you in beautiful Davos for the
World Economic Forum annual meeting
under the theme a spirit of dialogue. It
is timely that we listen to each other,
learn from each other, and build
stronger trust with each other." This
message resonated very deeply with the
crowd at Davos. And China's vice premier
would later go on to elaborate that
China wants to build a beneficial and
inclusive economic globalization by
building bridges, not walls, and embrace
multilateralism as the right way to keep
the international order stable. The UK
government heard this message and in a
The UK China Trade Deal
groundbreaking move has signed the most
significant trade deal we've seen yet
with China. Prime Minister Starmer
announced the success of the deal
proudly on X, stating, "I said my visit
to China would deliver for British
people. I meant it. We've now secured
billions of pounds worth of export and
investment deals for the UK. That's why
I'm here to deliver for you back home."
Now, don't get me wrong, the British
Prime Minister received a lot of flack
both at home and abroad for shifting
closer to China. But when you look at
the numbers and the deals passed during
this meeting, it's going to be a
substantial win for the UK. Cherry, the
Chinese automaker, announced it would
establish its European headquarters in
Liverpool, prompting the local
government to proclaim on X this is one
of the most significant projects for the
city's manufacturing sector in recent
years. Astroenica, one of the world's
largest pharmaceutical companies, struck
an $18.5 billion deal to license a
weight loss drug from China and
committed to a $15 billion investment in
China through 2030 to expand medicine's
manufacturing and R&D. The Chinese
economy is simply too big and too
important to ignore. And in a world
where the United States is wanting to
tariff and produce everything
domestically, those countries who secure
trade deals will win in the long term.
Let's take the UK's whiskey industry for
example. Starmer was able to negotiate a
50% tariff reduction with China, which
is now forecasted to be worth 250
million pounds to the UK economy over
the next 5 years. Finally, the two
countries agreed on visa-free travel for
all British nationals to China, opening
the door for more tourism. There were
even cultural exchanges between the two
countries as the World Snooker Tour,
headquartered in Bristol, managed to
secure a new event in two Chinese cities
worth over 15 million pounds. While
PopMart, makers of the hit toy Lebu,
pledged to open seven stores in the UK,
including a flagship outlet on London's
Oxford Street. Overall, Starmer's 4-day
visit to China secured 2.2 2 billion
pounds in export deals and market access
worth another2.3 billion pounds over the
next 5 years as well as hundreds of
millions of pounds of investment by
Chinese companies. But despite the
crystal clear trade deal wins for both
sides during this negotiation, Trump
immediately slammed the new trade deal
and said it's very dangerous to do
business with China. But I want to share
with you a clip that I feel really
brings a lot of clarity to the
situation. Just listen to how Victor
Gao, a prominent Chinese international
relations expert, answers a hard-hitting
question from the British media.
Is China a Threat to the UK?
Are you a competitor? Are you an ally?
Are you a are you a threat? How would
you regard your relationship with
Britain?
First of all, between China and Britain,
from the Chinese perspective, Britain is
not a rival, is not a competitor, it is
not an enemy, is not an adversary.
Britain [music] is just an important
country to get along with in peace and
in friendship and for mutual benefit.
Now, how Britain looks at China, it's up
to the British government and people to
decide. But I think it would be
completely misguided for Britain to view
China as an enemy or adversary or a
competitor. What do China and Britain
compete with? China is the largest
manufacturer of automobiles. Competing
with Britain? No. China is the largest
exporter of EV cars and will lead the
whole world in EV production. Is Britain
a competitor? No. China will be the
biggest and most important producer and
R&D in terms of semiconductor in no
time. Does that mean that China competes
with Britain? No. China will be the
leading nation in AI revolution. Is
Britain a competitor? No. So I think
British government should not
overestimate its impact on the global
scene and view Britain as a rival of
China. China is not. China is a fact.
China is a mega trend for Britain to
live with and get along with. Let's make
peace rather than agitating for war.
Honestly, it's hard to find a better
clip that captures how Chinese policy
makers and much of the Chinese public
are objectively viewing the current
global situation. Notice how the British
interviewer opens with a very western
framing. What is China? Are you a
friend, an adversary, a rival? How
should Britain view you? But Victor Gao,
who first rose to prominence as the
translator for Dang Xiaoping, the
Chinese leader who opened China to the
world in the 1980s, cuts straight
through the noise. His response is
simple and disarming. We are not your
adversary or rival, just an important
country you should be doing business
with. And this is where Victor makes a
point that's rarely said out loud, but
absolutely crucial. A rivalry only
exists if both sides are competing for
leadership in the same industries. So
the real question is this. In which
industries does Britain actually lead
China today? The uncomfortable truth is
none. We've now reached a point where if
Why China is the Future
you're not collaborating with China in
the future, you're actively choosing to
fall behind. And to really drive this
home, I want to highlight a fascinating
trend that's been circulating on social
media. people comparing photos of
themselves from 2016 and 2026, stunned
by how much has changed in just a
decade. So, let's apply that same lens
to China. Take a look at this data from
2016 based on the light in ranking of
world universities. 10 years ago, only
three Chinese universities cracked the
global top 20. But fast forward to 2026
and China now occupies 16 of the top 20
spots. That's not a slow shift. That's a
structural transformation. and it
happened in a single decade. But to see
how big a shift this is for the UK
government, you need to see just how
How the British Media Changed
dramatic the change has been inside the
British media itself. Just look at this
video published on the BBC's official
YouTube channel just 3 days ago with a
headline that would have been
unthinkable not long ago. China is
owning the future of global power. In
that YouTube video, the BBC's China
correspondent doesn't posture or hedge.
She simply lays out the reality of
China's position in the world today.
This is the factory of the world. It is
the biggest manufacturer in the world.
If you're looking at the future of our
planet, China is the lead in renewables.
It produces everything from around 60 to
80% of electric vehicles, solar panels,
wind turbines, electric batteries. China
makes more robots than anywhere else in
the world. Uh China has and processes
more rare earths than anywhere else in
the world. About 90% of rare earths for
instance. And these are the kind of
extracts, these minerals that are needed
to make anything from an electric
vehicle to your smartphone to Bluetooth
speakers. So when it comes to the future
technology, when it comes to the things
that we've kind of got used to, China
really is key and that is one of the
reasons why so many countries are
flocking here.
Those were not hot takes. They're just
the cold observable facts. But what's
remarkable though is how quickly the
BBC's China narrative has shifted. If we
go back just five years ago, the BBC
published an article titled The
Foreigners in China's Disinformation
Drive, in which it accused a number of
foreign YouTubers, myself included, of
being malignant Chinese propagandists.
But after the past 12 months of
geopolitical realignment, after
governments, corporations, and even
Western media outlets themselves have
adjusted to reality, it turns out none
of us were propagandists at all. We were
simply early. We were reporting what was
already happening long before it became
acceptable to say it out loud. It's a
remarkable change, but it was inevitable
because reality has a way of catching
up, no matter how uncomfortable it is at
first. But over the past few months,
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tightening control over strategic
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What most people still don't understand
is this. The real battlefield isn't
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in the next few minutes, I'm going to
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lithium winter is over. But here's the
real issue. China controls 60 to 70% of
global lithium refining and processing.
That gives Beijing leverage not just
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battery supply chain and the ability to
tighten the screws via export
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Vanguard Mining, which once again trades
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markets. And to help you out with that,
I'm going to include the investor
presentation, stock symbols, website,
and everything you need to know in the
video description down below. As always,
please do your own research before
making any investments. But in a world
where minerals are becoming weapons,
diversification across strategic metals
and friendly jurisdictions is something
I'm watching very closely. Everyone, I
want to thank you all for your continued
support as we continue to grow this
channel and provide you the best
insights into geopolitics and the best
opportunities in the markets that affect
your money and your life. As always, I
want to thank you all for your
incredible support, and we look forward
to seeing you all in our next video
