Yanis Varoufakis REVEALS Why USA Wants to Stop China

Summary

In this captivating exposition, Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece, unfolds the real reasons behind the United States' strategic moves against China, attributing them to economic and geopolitical dominance rather than ideological differences. Varoufakis argues that the core issue lies in the digital advancements of China that challenge the U.S.'s financial supremacy, particularly its monopoly on the global transaction system. He critiques the deep state's strategies, exposing the motivations rooted in maintaining global economic hegemony through aggressive containment policies.

Highlights

• Varoufakis highlights the strategic economic reasons behind U.S. actions towards China. 💡
• China's rise in digital economy threatens the U.S. dollar's dominance in global markets. 🌍
• U.S. geopolitical strategies are analyzed beyond the surface level of spy games and military threats. 🚀
• The narrative dismisses traditional views of ideological conflicts as the primary driver. 📉
• Varoufakis calls for introspection and strategic discourse to avoid potentially disastrous outcomes. 💬

Key Takeaways

• The U.S.'s new cold war against China is rooted in economic dominance, not ideological threats. 💼
• American military bases in the Pacific serve to form strategic choke points against China. 🌐
• China's development of a digital payment superhighway poses a threat to U.S. financial hegemony. 💳
• The deep state in the U.S. is focused on maintaining its global transaction system monopoly. 🏛️
• Yanis Varoufakis emphasizes the risks of escalating tensions into potential nuclear confrontations. ☢️

Overview

In a compelling talk, Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's former finance minister, tackles the real underpinnings behind the increasingly strained relations between the United States and China. Moving past common narratives of ideological disputes and military provocations, Varoufakis dives into the economic tidal wave instigated by China's technological advancements. Specifically, he underscores the significance of China's digital cloud infrastructure which has become a formidable competitor against the U.S.'s dominance in global financial systems.

A key element of Varoufakis' discussion is the strategic positioning of U.S. military presence, particularly in the Pacific region, to create choke points aimed at containing China's influence. He paints a picture of an American geopolitical strategy that is more concerned with maintaining economic hegemony than addressing ideological differences.

Varoufakis concludes with a caution about the potential for these tensions to escalate into more serious, possibly nuclear confrontations. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing the true stakes at play and encourages a global dialogue to address these issues critically and thoughtfully, moving beyond simplistic explanations of espionage and territorial disputes.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:00: Introduction to U.S.-China Tensions The chapter delves into the escalating tensions between the United States and China, drawing parallels to a modern 'cold war' scenario. It discusses the strategic positioning of American military bases throughout the Pacific region, which create strategic choke points perceived as deterrents or threats to China. The narrative also highlights the asymmetrical nature of these tensions by pointing out that China does not engage in similar practices, such as establishing military bases near the U.S. borders or projecting its naval power to American coastal cities like San Diego, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.
• 02:00 - 08:00: Yanis Varoufakis on U.S.-China Relations The chapter discusses U.S.-China relations, particularly focusing on the economic dynamics rather than military or espionage aspects. Yanis Varoufakis points out that China has established a digital cloud-based capital superhighway for payments, which poses a threat to the U.S. dollar's monopoly as the global payment system. This development is seen as a significant reason behind the United States' attempts to curtail China's rise as a leading economic power.
• 08:00 - 15:00: Critique of Western Narratives The chapter titled 'Critique of Western Narratives' begins by questioning common Western perceptions of China as a global threat or as a nation with ambitions of world domination. It suggests that these narratives might be over-simplified or misleading. Jiannis Varakus, the former finance minister of Greece, offers a perspective that challenges these views, implying that the underlying reasons for Western apprehensions are more complex and perhaps mischaracterized. The chapter invites the audience to consider Varakus' insights, suggesting they hold significant importance and urgency.
• 15:00 - 21:00: The Deep State's Role and Strategies The chapter titled 'The Deep State's Role and Strategies' delves into the geopolitical tension between the United States and China, describing it as a new cold war initiated by the U.S. The transcript outlines that this decision, spearheaded initially by the Trump administration and stemming from strategies during the Obama era, has been significantly intensified under the presidency of Joe Biden. It is emphasized as a unilateral move by the U.S., highlighting a lack of shared responsibility in this conflict initiation.
• 21:00 - 30:00: The Strategic Mindset of U.S. Policy In the chapter titled 'The Strategic Mindset of U.S. Policy', the focus is on President Biden's perspective on a critical issue facing humanity. The transcript reveals Biden's concern about the imminent threat of a nuclear confrontation, emphasizing that U.S. authorities are aware of and potentially making such a scenario possible. The chapter questions the strategic decisions being made and their implications for global security.
• 30:00 - 40:00: Economic Shifts and Cloud Capital The chapter titled 'Economic Shifts and Cloud Capital' seems to involve an analysis of economic questions and shifts, specifically regarding media representation. There's a focus on challenging American and British journalists from prominent publications like the Financial Times, Guardian, and Washington Post with straightforward questions about their narratives. The approach appears to underscore critical evaluation of media as a component of economic understanding and suggests further action based on this analysis.
• 40:00 - 43:00: Conclusion: Digital Superhighways and U.S. Hegemony The chapter 'Conclusion: Digital Superhighways and U.S. Hegemony' discusses the motivations behind the United States declaring a form of cold war against China. The central theme revolves around Taiwan and its significance in the geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. The dialogue in the transcript highlights that Taiwan has long been a point of contention, with China historically viewing Taiwan as a province of China. The chapter delves into this ongoing issue without introducing any new arguments but reiterating the longstanding positions of the involved nations.

Yanis Varoufakis REVEALS Why USA Wants to Stop China Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 why why is the United States declaring essentially a new cold war against ch China you just look at the map of the Pacific and you see American bases everywhere creating choke points for China China has absolutely no interest in uh building military bases on the US Mexican border in taking you know naval power and projecting it to San Diego or Los Angeles or San Francisco China
• 00:30 - 01:00 doesn't want that China wants to trade So it's not that China is getting bigger It is not that China is spying It is not Taiwan It is that China has built a digital cloud capitalbased superighway for payments which is a clear and present danger to the monopoly of the dollar payment system which is the only reason why the United States is hijmonic The United States is clearly trying to stop China from becoming the world's top economic power But why a lot of people assume
• 01:00 - 01:30 it's because China is a communist country a global threat or even planning world domination But is that really the case according to Jiannis Varakus the former finance minister of Greece the real reason goes much deeper Curious to know what he said watch this video to hear his views So I'm going to cut to the chase because my topic I think is the most uh pressing
• 01:30 - 02:00 issue for humanity at the moment the new cold war that the United States unleashed against China This is not a shared responsibility It is a decision by Washington DC to unleash a cold war against China It started with Donald Trump It was already in the making from the Obama administration but it has been reinforced exponentially under Joe
• 02:00 - 02:30 Biden And the reason why I'm saying that this is the most pressing issue for humanity is because we are being quick marched towards the precipice of a nuclear confrontation that the United States authorities knowingly are making a real possibility And the question is
• 02:30 - 03:00 why the first question and once we go through the analysis then of course the second question and of equal importance is so what do we do about it i enjoy very much placing American and British in particular journalists who are part of this propaganda machine you know Financial Times Guardian Washington Post placing them in a difficult position with a very simple question Why
• 03:00 - 03:30 why is the United States declaring essentially a new cold war against ch China and the first the first the first word that comes out of their mouth is Taiwan and I said to them what about Taiwan said well the Chinese want to take it over I said they always wanted to take it over what's new I mean it was always the position of Beijing that Taiwan is a province of China and at
• 03:30 - 04:00 some point they will have to fall under the fault like Hong Kong did Didn't Richard Nixon know that in 1971 when he was visiting Beijing making friends with China didn't Clinton know that when he was inducting China into the World Trade Organization why wasn't Taiwan a problem then what has changed now they look at me Oh yeah Well China is spying on us The NSA is spying on you The CI I have
• 04:00 - 04:30 and that is the truth and DI knows this We have a three-point NSA tap on me My phone that is three points means that if I talk to you you're spied on If you talk to your wife your wife is spied on If your wife talks to your child you're spy your your child So I I know that they've told me that So I don't believe the Chinese are as good as the NSA at spying I mean the NSA was listening in to Chancellor Angela Merkel This was revealed and then you
• 04:30 - 05:00 know when Angela Merkel was told that immediately she said okay do you want me to speak louder so you can hear hear me better so it wasn't a problem right now suddenly that China is developing surveillance and I hope China is developing surveillance methods because you know if if you're being spied on you need to spy back on them it's the only way my one of my great friends and I'm very proud of that that may shock some of you is Julian Assange of Wikileaks And Julian Assange a very brave man said
• 05:00 - 05:30 to me once uh that what do you do with big brother how do you stop big brother well what you do is you develop the technology so that you spy on him while he's spying on you So counter surveillance is the only way of dealing with surveillance so that they know that you know that they know this is essential for maintaining any degree of autonomy So I hope China is developing its capacity to counter the surveillance of the
• 05:30 - 06:00 NSA Um and it's a joke I mean the people in the NSA are laughing their heads off when they hear journalists from the Wall Street Journal saying that the reason for the new cold war is that China is spying on the on the Americans And then I hear other idiotic answers like you know the the Chinese are building naval vessels uh they are projecting naval power Well I will believe this I mean of course you're building naval vessels
• 06:00 - 06:30 You're expanding your economy You're expanding your capacity to um project your own power That is essential That's what every every country must do if it respects its own interests But I'm going to be worried about Chinese imperialism when I see Chinese vessels outside San Diego and Los Angeles and Chinese army bases next to El Paso on the US Mexican
• 06:30 - 07:00 border Until we see that it is ludicrous You just look at the map of the Pacific and you see American bases everywhere creating choke points for China And this is their official policy for 40 years And they have the audacity to say that China is a threat because China is anyway enough time wasted on these nonexlanations of the new cold war Now you may have heard of um well I won't
• 07:00 - 07:30 mention him yet The more sophisticated analysts in the United States would invoke the so-called fusidities trap or fusidities curse that to put it in very um vulgar terms If you live in an anarctic world if you are a child a boy and you go to school with a rough very rough school and there are lots of
• 07:30 - 08:00 bullies you should be the biggest and nastiest bully That is the cynical realist school of thought of American geopolitics that America in this anarctic world because they don't really believe in God They don't believe there is a God that will help them They think that they must be the nastiest biggest bully in the world in order to defend themselves Their survival as a nation and their prosperity will depend
• 08:00 - 08:30 on their capacity to bully everybody else and from preventing anyone who is getting too big for their boots to become an equally sized bully And they will say to you that they were bullies around the world like for instance Imperial Japan Imperial Germany the Soviet Union And what the United States have succeeded in doing is effectively eliminating them annihilating them getting them out of the way And that now China is rising China's next and
• 08:30 - 09:00 therefore that explains a new cold war Now there's no doubt that the deep state in the United States and make no mistake the United States is not a democracy It's an oligarchy with elections that are providing the legitimacy for this one party state to continue to exist And when I say one party state I mean one party state Uh take for instance Victoria Nuland You may be familiar with this diplomat of the
• 09:00 - 09:30 Washington establishment Victoria Nuland worked for Bill Clinton She worked for George W Bush She worked under Clinton She worked under Trump Vicarian Nuland is an example of the single state deep state of the United States Now that deep state single party establishment in the United States is
• 09:30 - 10:00 split along the line of two different conflicting views neither w of which is good news for China There is the the more intelligent nuanced line of thinking that which in academia is uh represented by that very intelligent man from the University of Chicago John
• 10:00 - 10:30 Mishheimer The view is this They they are very critical of the inability of Washington to focus on what is necessary and they are overreach They think that the United States is overreaching So they are very critical of the war of the United States role in firstly through Victoria
• 10:30 - 11:00 Nuland creating the circumstances through the coupeta against Victor Yanukovich the then president of Ukraine in 2014 they created the coupeta in order ethnically to cleanse Russian speakers from the eastern side of Ukraine in order to provoke Putin into the first stage of war in 2014 against Ukraine so as to push for NATO expansion in uh Scandinavia and of course Georgia
• 11:00 - 11:30 and Ukraine And so this pragmatic viewpoint simply says that we shouldn't be doing this because that way we are pushing Russia into the arms of China And the whole point of the Nixon administration was to split the Soviet Union from China and therefore win the cold war So they are critical of the support of Ukraine and
• 11:30 - 12:00 of Israel because they think that this simply disorientates the United States policy It creates alliances amongst Americans enemies like alliances between Russia and China Iran and Russia and so on And that this is silly politics because the enemy is China and China needs to be contained And if you ask them why does China need to be contained China doesn't have a history
• 12:00 - 12:30 of imperialism China has absolutely no interest in uh building military bases on the US Mexican border in taking you know naval power and projecting it to San Diego or Los Angeles or San Francisco China doesn't want that China wants to trade You know what they say yes we agree But if we let China become a regional superpower in the Pacific area in its
• 12:30 - 13:00 own area in its backyard if we allow China for instance to become dominant in the South China Sea and in the Indian Ocean then China in the future will start trying to do what we have done and they will become an imperialistic force in the western hemisphere which for them is the the Americas This is what they say They understand that China is not
• 13:00 - 13:30 imperialistic but they fear that if they do not contain China through choke points just north of Indonesia you know the first array of islands the second array of islands between China and the Philippines and so on then China will emulate the United States and therefore you better prevent that by choking China today So that's one line line of argument The second line of
• 13:30 - 14:00 argument is the opposite argument that the United States must be a bully everywhere all over the world including in Europe including the Ukraine And that for instance I I have been told that by somebody who was very high up in the Bush administration and who was very high up in the chain of command of NATO in Brussels an American Republican He said to me that we need to expand NATO uh against the interest of of the
• 14:00 - 14:30 Europeans He was clear against the interest of Europeans And I said to him Bob why he said because of three reasons First because we must be in Europe the United States We to keep ourselves in Number one reason he gave me Number two to keep the Germans down Look at the price of electricity in Germany today as a result of the war in Ukraine The German industrial machine is finished Kaput as a result not just of that but
• 14:30 - 15:00 that is one of the reasons And thirdly to keep the Russians out So this is you know if you were in the corridors of power in Washington DC this is the discussion you would hear The containment of China the choking of China is common ground for all of them They simply disagree on how to do it best whether to do it through the war in Ukraine or as Trump suggests end the war in Ukraine and concentrate on China Well
• 15:00 - 15:30 this so far what I have presented to you is more or less common knowledge amongst anyone who's ever been in Washington been in Brussels spoken to these people to the cold warriors to the new gold warriors This is common knowledge But I think that that story that I've given you so far is incomplete Why did the Clinton administration and the Bush administration after that were so gung-ho about trading with China why did
• 15:30 - 16:00 they not start the new cold war against China in the 1990s in the year 2000 in 2004 2005 2008 why was it only around 2014 that this establishment decided to unleash the war against China it's not that they one explanation is that the Clinton administration people could not see that China would develop to the extent that China developed that it
• 16:00 - 16:30 would become so big I don't believe that I never believe explanations which presume the stupidity of the people involved I don't believe that these people were stupid and I don't believe that they didn't see that by shifting half of American manufacturing to the west coast of China sorry to the east coast of China that you know that China would not grow and develop They knew it and they were celebrating it I remember
• 16:30 - 17:00 you know for years hearing that you know capitalism is fantastic because look at China the moment it introduced the market economy so and they become a superpower so they knew it and they wanted it why don't they want it now why is it suddenly choking points and containment and you know putting a boot on their neck what really changed for me the
• 17:00 - 17:30 essence of the pursuit of a new cold war against China by the United States By the way Europe is irrelevant Europe is simply doing as it's told Europe doesn't want to unleash a cold war against China But you know they get the email from Washington DC Do it and they do it against their interests and against their wishes So don't care about the the Europeans It's Washington If you
• 17:30 - 18:00 were somebody like you know a strategic thinker like Henry Kissinger who is now dead but you know this is the example of the deep thinking American official What could you really be worried about since I mentioned Kissinger let me stick to him for a moment The year was 1970 Kissinger at the time who was working for President Nixon you'll recall was
• 18:00 - 18:30 not the foreign minister was not in the is the state department yet he was the head of the national security council and he was the national security adviser to the American president and he was the epitome all his life of American strategic thinking the thinking of that one party state the deep state of the United states being a smart man when he saw the macroeconomic statistics and he
• 18:30 - 19:00 saw that from 1968 from 1968 onwards America for the first time since the 1930s had become a deficit country for the first time in its history since it became a superpower or an important power in the bid war period and certainly since the 1950s when it was the only superpower In terms of economic superpower the United States slipped from being a surplus country from having
• 19:00 - 19:30 a surplus in its trade balance uh to having a deficit And Kiru was worried because he knew that historically speaking every empire that went from being a surplus to a deficit economic entity started fading So he got together his people at the National Security Council and he asked them a simple question How should we what should we do
• 19:30 - 20:00 in order to retain our hijgemony now that we are a deficit country and he said to the people go away and think about it and I want from each one of you half a page of a note Very interesting right not 20 pages half a page Not a page half a page This is how Kissinger worked And these were very smart people right most of them came back and gave a very Germanic
• 20:00 - 20:30 answer If we have a deficit we must cut down our expenditure We must increase uh interest rates and so on and so forth in order to reduce imports and bring about a balance between exports and imports to eliminate our trade deficit One man in his half a page which I actually acquired in the process of writing a book 15 years ago typewritten a typewritten half a page he
• 20:30 - 21:00 said what we must do we must treble our deficit treble our deficit we have a deficit which is bad we must make it three times as big and make the capitalists of the rest of the world pay for it which is exactly what happened the United States should increase its deficit and use it to create aggregate demand for the net exports of Germany and Japan and later on China because it
• 21:00 - 21:30 is the trade deficit of the United States that sucks into the United States your aluminium your electric vehicles deficit dollars like IUS and you know when people ask Paul Vulcan and but will that not affect the value of the dollar He said no not as long as it is the only world reserve currency the only currency that has demand People demand
• 21:30 - 22:00 it even if they don't want to buy anything from the country which is producing it which is printing it So if you are today somebody of a mind comparable to Kissingers then you know that the reason why the United States is so hegemonic why it can afford to be the the big bully around the world is because of the monopoly of the payment
• 22:00 - 22:30 system When Trump was elected because he hated Obama so deeply he wanted to take down something that Obama was very proud of Obama was very proud of two things Obamacare and the agreement between the West and Iran over the nuclear program of Iran and the ending of the sanctions which was signed by Iran by the United States and by the whole of the European Union enthusiastically And Trump wanted to
• 22:30 - 23:00 destroy that agreement just because he hated Obama So he takes the agreement with Iran and tears it up Tears it up The Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel was very annoyed because she had worked very hard together with Obama to bring about that agreement with Iran and she German businesses were already in negotiations in Iran to enter Iran Iran is a land of opportunity after so many years of sanctions for large
• 23:00 - 23:30 conglomerates like the German ones especially when it came to energy to consumer products to car manufacturing They were all ready to get in and Trump says no Merkel comes out and gives a press conference against the president of the United States This is unprecedented That doesn't happen often and she says "I do not know what uh the United States will do We respect their
• 23:30 - 24:00 opinion and their position but Germany is going to maintain their agreement the peace agreement with Iran and German businesses will continue to do business in Iran on the basis of this international agreement which we are going to fulfill and which we're going to honor." Within 12 hours every single CEO of every German conglomerate came out and said "Not us We're not in We're out We will follow the Americans." Why
• 24:00 - 24:30 it's really very simple Because they depended on their net exports to the United States And the Trump administration threatened them that they would not benefit from the tax cuts the corporate the reductions the corporate tax that Trump was bringing in He said them "You want to benefit from them no business in Iran You want to maintain your access to the dollar payment system No business with Iran." So the German conglomerate leaders turned against the
• 24:30 - 25:00 German chancellor the day after she gave a press conference effectively saying "Sorry Chancellor we are going with President Trump on this." Against their own financial interests in Iran and in Europe which is exactly what they're doing now Yeah the United States together with Ukraine bomb the pipeline Nordstream one that costs billions every week for German industry Have you heard a German industrial say anything nothing because they are dependent on the
• 25:00 - 25:30 American traders But this whole thing for the trade deficit of the United States to function as a vacuum cleaner that sucks into the United States the net exports of Germany of France of Japan and of China you need the dollar to remain the monopoly the monopolistic transaction system because it is only the monopoly of transactions that allows
• 25:30 - 26:00 the Americans to continue with unfinanced unfunded deficits Then you look at the rise of what I call cloud capital in the United States and China By cloud capital I'm talking about what lives in here the algorithmic capital on which big tech is built which is a new form of capital because unlike other forms of capital which are always
• 26:00 - 26:30 a means of production a produced means of production A robot a tractor is something you produce to produce something else This is not a produced means of production It's a produced means an artificial means of behavioral modification That's what Alibaba is That's what Tik Tok is That is what Tencent is That is what of course Amazon Google Facebook and so on They are
• 26:30 - 27:00 capital goods that create non-markets platforms that look like markets but are not markets which allow the owner of that cloud capital to bring us in as buyers as sellers as influencers as opinion makers as simply consumers of entertainment and charge all of us a form of rent That's enormous power that the ownership of this cloud capital
• 27:00 - 27:30 confers to the owners of cloud capital Now there are two countries in the world that have a lot of concentrated cloud capital One is the United States and the other is China And the reason why you have it here is because you banned Silicon Valley Europe didn't ban Silicon Valley So we all depend on Google Facebook Meta all that and we didn't develop our own cloud capital So there is American cloud capital There's Chinese capital Cloud capital Chinese
• 27:30 - 28:00 cloud capital has an advantage over American cloud capital This is something you've got to understand Not so much because I mean your technology is not better than the Americans In some things you have gone beyond American capabilities but in other things the Americans are bigger and better and faster than you are at this stage No it's not a technological advantage that you have It is a political advantage and an organizational advantage Here in China the people's bank the central bank
• 28:00 - 28:30 of China controls the bankers In the United States the bankers control the central bank They own the central bank They created the central bank The central bank of the United States the Federal Reserve was created by JP Morgan It was not the other way around Okay it's important to understand the institutional differences between our countries and the United States The United States is a very very strange place So cloud capital Silicon Valley in
• 28:30 - 29:00 the United States and finance don't work together Apple Pay exists Google Pay exists So like WeChat you can pay through Apple Pay but a large segment of that money goes to Wall Street as a rent So there is a clash like some like class war between or a feudal law war between the fifth of Wall Street on the west co east coast and the fifth of cloud
• 29:00 - 29:30 capital on the west coast They're clashing That clash doesn't happen in China because both your finance sector and your big tech or cloud capital sector are under the communist party I'm being very honest and frank with you and that's a good thing That's is an advantage But if you're sitting in Washington especially after the war in Ukraine especially after your central bank created the digital one the digital one is a fantastic invention You should
• 29:30 - 30:00 treasure it and you should use it and you should develop it And we have discussions about how to do this Your country has built a digital superighway for money which is much much more advanced than the rickety road that is the American dollar road cuz today that super wide highway is not used It's like you know imagine you have you've had this experience here You build a highway five lanes each side but not many cars
• 30:00 - 30:30 are going on it That's what's happening now with your digital payment system And the American road which is very old full of potholes two lanes not five is full of traffic because all the capitalist profits and trade is being financed through transactions on that old highway But already there's a migration from the American highway to the Chinese superighway It started with Russians
• 30:30 - 31:00 That's what the Ukraine war did And then if you're a Saudi Arabian okay you're a Saudi Arabian an oligarch you do most of your business with the United States you you know you love your dollars but you're thinking these people the Americans confiscated 400 billion of the Russians money because they didn't like the Russians for whatever reason Maybe the Russians deserved it Doesn't matter I'm not
• 31:00 - 31:30 making an ethical point here Yeah You think you're Saudi Arabian I'm not a very good person myself Maybe they will not like me tomorrow Maybe I will do something to annoy them tomorrow Maybe they will take part of my dough Right so why don't I diversify some of that money i will transact through the superighway that the Chinese have built Why do you think Saudi Arabia is interested in joining the bricks that's the reason There's no other reason That is the reason Now go back to Washington You're looking at that and you think this super
• 31:30 - 32:00 highway that these Chinese have built is a clear and present danger to mighty Germany That's why they have the chips act because they want to reduce your capacity to invest in this super highway and make it attractive for everybody else This is why they are creating circumstances of choking anyone outside the United States wants to trade with China because they don't want this super highway So it's not that China is getting bigger It is not that China is
• 32:00 - 32:30 spying It is not Taiwan It is that China has built a digital cloud capitalbased superighway for payments which is a clear and present danger to the monopoly of the dollar payment system which is the only reason why the United States is hijgemonic