{"id":91307,"date":"2017-05-01T12:00:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=91307"},"modified":"2017-04-25T17:01:47","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T16:01:47","slug":"why-washington-is-terrified-of-russia-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/05\/why-washington-is-terrified-of-russia-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Washington is Terrified of Russia, China"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Russia-China strategic partnership, uniting the Pentagon’s avowed top two “existential” threats to America, does not come with a formal treaty signed with pomp, circumstance – and a military parade.<\/em><\/p>\n

21 Apr 2017 – <\/em>Enveloped in\u00a0layers of\u00a0subtle sophistication, there’s no way to\u00a0know the deeper terms Beijing and Moscow have agreed upon\u00a0behind those innumerable Putin-Xi Jinping high-level meetings.<\/p>\n

Diplomats, off\u00a0the record, occasionally let it slip there may have been a coded message delivered to\u00a0NATO to\u00a0the effect that if one of\u00a0the strategic members is seriously harassed\u00a0\u2014 be it in\u00a0Ukraine or in\u00a0the South China Sea \u2013 NATO will have to\u00a0deal with\u00a0both.<\/p>\n

Would China Strike North Korea?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

For now, let’s concentrate on\u00a0two instances of\u00a0how the partnership works in\u00a0practice, and why Washington is clueless on\u00a0how to\u00a0deal with\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

Exhibit A is the imminent visit to\u00a0Moscow by\u00a0the Director of\u00a0the General Office of\u00a0the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Li Zhanshu, invited by\u00a0the head of\u00a0the Presidential Administration in\u00a0the Kremlin, Anton Vaino. Beijing stressed the talks will revolve around \u2013 what else\u00a0\u2014 the Russia-China strategic partnership, “as previously agreed on\u00a0by the countries’ leaders.”<\/p>\n

China Ready to Promote Political Settlement in Hot Spots With Russia – Foreign Minister<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This happens just after\u00a0China’s First Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, one of\u00a0the top seven in\u00a0the Politburo and one of\u00a0the drivers of\u00a0China’s economic policies, was received in\u00a0Moscow<\/a> by\u00a0President Putin. They discussed Chinese investments in\u00a0Russia and the key energy angle of\u00a0the partnership.<\/p>\n

But most of\u00a0all they prepared Putin’s next visit to\u00a0Beijing, which will be particularly momentous, in\u00a0the cadre of\u00a0the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) summit<\/a> on\u00a0May 14-15, steered by\u00a0Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n

The General Office of\u00a0the CCP \u2013 directly subordinated to\u00a0Xi\u00a0\u2014 only holds this kind of\u00a0ultra-high-level annual consultations with\u00a0Moscow, and no other player. Needless to\u00a0add, Li Zhanshu reports directly to\u00a0Xi as\u00a0much as\u00a0Vaino reports directly to\u00a0Putin. That is as\u00a0highly strategic as\u00a0it gets.<\/p>\n

That also happens to\u00a0tie directly to\u00a0one of\u00a0the latest episodes featuring The Hollow (Trump) Men, in\u00a0this case Trump’s bumbling\/bombastic National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. HR McMaster.<\/p>\n

Trump Administration\u2019s Shift to More Aggressive Foreign Policy ‘Very Dangerous’<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In a nutshell, McMaster’s spin, jolly regurgitated by\u00a0US corporate media, is that Trump has developed such a “special chemistry” with\u00a0Xi after\u00a0their Tomahawks-with-chocolate cake summit in\u00a0Mar-a-Lago that Trump has managed to\u00a0split the Russia-China entente on\u00a0Syria and isolate Russia in\u00a0the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n

It would have taken only a few minutes for\u00a0McMaster to\u00a0read the BRICS joint communiqu\u00e9<\/a> on\u00a0Syria for\u00a0him to\u00a0learn that the BRICS are behind\u00a0Russia.<\/p>\n

No wonder a vastly experienced Indian geopolitical observer felt compelled<\/a> to\u00a0note that, “Trump and McMaster look somewhat like\u00a0two country bumpkins who lost their way in\u00a0the metropolis.”<\/p>\n

Follow the money<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exhibit B centers on\u00a0Russia and China quietly advancing their agreement to\u00a0progressively replace<\/a> the US dollar’s reserve status with\u00a0a gold-backed system.<\/p>\n

Intelligence Fail: Trump Advisor Slams Russia for ‘Subversive Actions in Europe’, Can’t Name Them<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

That also involves the key participation of\u00a0Kazakhstan \u2013 very much interested in\u00a0using gold as\u00a0currency along\u00a0OBOR. Kazakhstan could not be more strategically positioned; a key hub of\u00a0OBOR; a key member of\u00a0the Eurasia Economic Union (EEU); member of\u00a0the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); and not by\u00a0accident the smelter of\u00a0most of\u00a0Russia’s gold.<\/p>\n

In parallel, Russia and China are advancing their own payment systems. With the yuan now enjoying the status of\u00a0a global currency, China has been swiftly promoting their payment system<\/a>, CIPS, careful not to\u00a0frontally antagonize the internationally accepted SWIFT, controlled by\u00a0the US.<\/p>\n

Russia, on\u00a0the other hand, has stressed the creation of “an alternative,” in\u00a0the words of\u00a0Russian Central Bank’s Elvira Nabiullina, in\u00a0the form of\u00a0the Mir payment system\u00a0\u2014 a Russian version of\u00a0Visa\/ MasterCard. What’s implied is that were Washington feel inclined to\u00a0somehow exclude Russia from\u00a0SWIFT, even temporarily, at\u00a0least 90 percent of\u00a0ATMs in\u00a0Russia would be able to\u00a0operate on\u00a0Mir.<\/p>\n

Trump’s National Security Adviser Says All Options on the Table for North Korea<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

China’s UnionPay cards are already an established fixture all across\u00a0Asia \u2013 enthusiastically adopted by\u00a0HSBC, among\u00a0others. Combine “alternative” payment systems with\u00a0a developing gold-backed system<\/a> \u2013 and “toxic” does not even begin to\u00a0spell out\u00a0the reaction of\u00a0the US Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n

And it’s not just about\u00a0Russia and China; it’s about\u00a0the BRICS.<\/p>\n

What First Deputy Governor of\u00a0Russia’s Central Bank Sergey Shvetsov has outlined is just the beginning: “BRICS countries are large economies with\u00a0large reserves of\u00a0gold and an impressive volume of\u00a0production and consumption of\u00a0this precious metal. In China, the gold trade is conducted in\u00a0Shanghai, in\u00a0Russia it is in\u00a0Moscow. Our idea is to\u00a0create a link between\u00a0the two cities in\u00a0order to\u00a0increase trade between\u00a0the two markets.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Russia and China already have established systems to\u00a0do global trade bypassing the US dollar. What Washington did to\u00a0Iran\u00a0\u2014 cutting their banks off\u00a0SWIFT<\/a> \u2013 is now unthinkable against\u00a0Russia and China.<\/p>\n

So we’re already on\u00a0our way, slowly but\u00a0surely, towards\u00a0a BRICS “gold marketplace<\/a>.” A “new financial architecture” is being built. That will imply the eventual inability of\u00a0the US Fed to\u00a0export inflation to\u00a0other nations \u2013 especially those included in\u00a0BRICS, EEU and SCO.<\/p>\n

US Defense Secretary Accuses Damascus of Retaining Chemical Weapons<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Hollow Men<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump’s Generals, led by “Mad Dog” Mattis, may spin all they want about\u00a0their need to\u00a0dominate the planet with\u00a0their sophisticated AirSeaLandSpaceCyber commands. Yet that may be not enough to\u00a0counter the myriad ways the Russia-China strategic partnership is developing.<\/p>\n

So more on\u00a0than off, we will have Hollow Men like\u00a0Vice-President Mike Pence, with\u00a0empurpled solemnity, threatening North Korea; \u201cThe shield stands guard and the sword stands ready.\u201d Forget this does not even qualify as\u00a0a lousy line in\u00a0a cheap remake of\u00a0a Hollywood B-movie; what we have here is Aspiring Commander-in-Chief Pence warning Russia and China there may be some nuclear nitty-gritty very close to\u00a0their borders between\u00a0the US and North Korea.<\/p>\n

Not gonna happen. So here’s to\u00a0the great T. S. Eliot, who saw it all decades in\u00a0advance:<\/p>\n

We are the hollow men<\/em>
\nWe are the stuffed men<\/em>
\nLeaning together<\/em>
\nHeadpiece filled with\u00a0straw.\u00a0Alas!<\/em>
\nOur dried voices, when<\/em>
\nWe whisper together<\/em>
\nAre quiet and meaningless<\/em>
\nAs wind in\u00a0dry grass<\/em>
\nOr rats’ feet over\u00a0broken glass<\/em>
\nIn our dry cellar<\/em>
\n__________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Pepe Escobar is a Brazilian independent geopolitical analyst. He is a frequent contributor to websites and radio and TV shows ranging from the US to East Asia. He is the former roving correspondent for Asia Times Online. He has been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even before 9\/11 he specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central and East Asia, with an emphasis on Big Power geopolitics and energy wars. He is the author of \u201cGlobalistan<\/a>\u201d (2007), \u201cRed Zone Blues<\/a>\u201d (2007), \u201cObama does Globalistan<\/a>\u201d (2009) and \u201cEmpire of Chaos<\/a>\u201d (2014), all published by Nimble Books. His latest book is \u201c2030<\/a>\u201c, also by Nimble Books, out in December 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 sputniknews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Russia-China strategic partnership, uniting the Pentagon’s avowed top two “existential” threats to America, does not come with a formal treaty signed with pomp, circumstance – and a military parade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-focus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91307\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}