[0.0-4.6] So there's a theory that I want to share with you about what actually happened when Trump
[4.6-11.8] went to China and brought with him 18 CEOs. Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, Larry Fink
[11.8-17.4] from BlackRock, the most powerful business leadership ever put together for a foreign trip
[17.4-23.0] in American history. The whole world is watching our meeting. Currently,
[23.0-28.9] transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international
[28.9-35.2] situation is fluid and turbulent. The world has come to a new crossroads. Can we in the
[35.2-41.0] interest of the well-being of our two peoples and the future of humanity build a brighter future
[41.0-47.9] together for our bilateral relations? These are the questions vital to history, to the world
[47.9-55.3] and to the people. Now, the theory says that what this was all for was a negotiation for a new
[55.3-60.6] monetary order, probably the most significant one in our lifetime. The post-World War II
[60.6-65.7] order in post-Legiton of the US is breaking down. Would you say China has a substantial say,
[66.3-73.9] if not dictating the next world order? Yes, of course. And this theory goes back 40 years ago.
[73.9-79.4] To a deal that most people have probably never even heard of, but what it did was it restructured
[79.4-87.0] the whole global economy. And that deal made one country super rich and it destroyed another one
[87.0-95.5] for 30 years. That deal was called the Plaza Accord. What is that? In 1985, the United States had
[95.5-101.0] a couple problems. It had a huge trade deficit, it had a dollar that was too strong,
[101.0-106.3] and American manufacturers couldn't compete globally, which kind of sounds exactly like today.
[107.0-112.2] So the Reagan administration called in a secret meeting at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
[112.8-120.1] They brought in France, West Germany, Japan and the UK. And behind closed doors, they made a deal.
[120.7-127.3] The deal was, other countries agreed to manipulate the currency markets to weaken the US dollar,
[127.3-133.2] specifically against the Japanese yen. Now, why would the US want to do that? Well, because what
[133.2-139.3] happened then was, the yen doubled in value almost overnight. Japanese exports became really
[139.3-145.8] expensive, and American goods became cheap by comparison. So the trade deficit got smaller,
[145.8-151.7] and America became more competitive and manufacturing. Now, in exchange, Japan got something as well.
[152.4-158.3] Japanese companies were allowed to invest heavily into the United States. So companies like Toyota,
[158.3-166.1] Honda, Nissan started to build factories here in America. Japanese money flooded into US real estate,
[166.1-171.1] US treasuries, and US businesses. And for a little while, everyone was winning.
[172.0-177.5] But here's what happened to Japan. When their currency doubled that fast, their whole economy,
[177.5-184.4] which was mostly export driven, sort of seized up. So Japan tried to compensate and save their
[184.4-192.7] economy by flooding it with cheap money. That cheap money created the biggest asset bubble in modern
[192.7-200.5] history. Real estate, stocks, everything went parabolic. And Japan spent the next 30 years trying to
[200.5-206.1] dig itself out of that hole. History calls it the lost decades. And to this day, Japan never fully
[206.1-211.9] recovered. Okay, so how does this relate to China? How it relates to China is because I don't think
[211.9-218.6] the real negotiation was about tariffs. There's a possibility that what they talked about was a
[218.6-225.8] rough draft of a new plaza accord. Why we think this is because China first proposed this deal
[225.8-233.6] themselves in October 2025 to Scott Bessett. Except China's not going to let their currency get
[233.6-238.4] plaza accorded the way Japan got, because they watched Japan get destroyed by a currency
[238.4-245.1] revaluation. So if China's going to make a deal, it won't be a revaluation of the dollar against
[245.1-251.4] the yuan. It'll be done through another asset. The theory is that this asset is probably going to
[251.4-256.9] be gold. And if that is right, it could change everything. It's going to change what it means for
[256.9-261.4] the dollar, what it means for inflation, what it means for your savings, your investments, and
[261.4-268.6] probably the whole money system itself. So with that said, let's speculate together on why this
[268.6-274.5] is happening, what this deal might look like and what this means for the US economy and our wallets.
[274.5-278.6] So with that said, let's get into it. Hi, my name is Andre Jik. Hope you're doing well.
[278.6-283.9] Come for the finance and say for China. So to understand this deal and why this is being
[283.9-289.1] negotiated right now, we need to understand what's actually happening in the world at this moment.
[289.1-295.4] So let's start with what Xi Jinping said in his opening statement about something called
[295.4-303.0] the Thucydides trap. Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides trap
[304.8-313.8] and create a new paradigm of major country relations? Now the Thucydides trap is a theory from political
[313.8-319.5] science. It's actually named after an ancient Greek historian who studied the war between Athens
[319.5-328.6] and Sparta around 400 BC. And what Thucydides noticed was this, when arising power starts threatening
[328.6-335.0] the dominance of an existing power, the result is almost always war. That's because fear, pride,
[335.0-341.0] and competition makes conflict almost inevitable. So after studying cases throughout history,
[341.6-349.8] they found 16 cases where a rising power challenged a ruling one. And in 12 of the 16,
[350.5-356.8] they ended in war. So Xi Jinping's like, hey, we both know China is a rising superpower,
[356.8-363.4] and we both know how this story usually ends. Let's not do that. Now, to understand why it's all
[363.4-370.0] happening right now, we have to look at the most important thing, which is the flow of energy.
[370.0-376.4] Because whoever controls the flow of energy controls leverage and what's called capital flow,
[376.4-384.7] aka where money goes. And we know that the straight up her moves controls roughly 20% of the world's
[384.7-390.5] energy. And since the US is really war with Iran started earlier this year, this straight has
[390.5-396.6] been closed. And it is still closed. We can see that in the data. The official story we've been
[396.6-401.9] told for months is that this will get resolved quickly, right? The piece deal is coming. Her moves
[401.9-407.4] will reopen. Everything will go back to normal. And the stock markets have been pricing in this
[407.4-414.5] perfect assumption. But the data is telling us a completely different story. The story it's telling us
[414.5-420.3] is that the world has been drawing down its emergency oil reserves to compensate for the closure.
[421.0-427.7] And those reserves are starting to run out. Bloomberg reported that global oil inventories
[427.7-434.6] will hit operational stress levels by about June. Minimum floor levels, meaning the bare minimum
[434.6-440.0] that's needed to keep things like pipelines running and refineries operating, those will run out
[440.0-446.1] by about September. And Jeff Curry, who is the ex head of commodities at Goldman Sachs on Bloomberg
[446.1-451.4] said, parts of Europe and Asia are already in shortage right now. There's a big difference between
[451.4-457.0] a deficit and a shortage. We're in deficit. Demand is above supply. We are dry inventories. And so
[457.0-463.0] you're borrowing oil from the future right now. The US hits critical levels around July 4th.
[463.6-467.7] Even the CEOs of Chevron, conical Phillips and Saudi Aramco are all giving interviews where
[467.7-472.8] they're saying that they're worried about the supply of oil. The US can't make up all of that supply.
[473.7-480.4] Inventories in the system are being drawn down and the supply situation is tightening and that's
[480.4-485.6] a concern. Morgan Stanley put out research saying there's essentially no demand destruction
[485.6-492.6] in oil until prices hit $140 a barrel. But for some reason, oil is still under $100. Some
[492.6-498.2] has been using the media and the paper markets to calm everything down and stabilize the whole
[498.2-504.2] global financial system. Things like oil and rates and volatility are all being managed. They're
[504.2-510.6] buying the US some time. Minutes before each market moving announcement, suspiciously time trades made
[510.6-517.9] investors about $2.6 billion. Betting oil prices would drop and now the DOJ is investigating.
[517.9-523.5] Now while all of this is happening, I also think we're being sold a Hollywood story.
[523.5-528.4] Because the official White House press release from the Beijing summit said both Trump and
[528.4-534.2] G agree that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon. So they want people to think of this story.
[534.2-538.3] It's kind of like a Hollywood movie of good guys versus bad guys.
[539.0-544.8] But here's the problem. You name the allies of China. They're all dirt bags.
[545.6-551.1] They're aligned with the worst people in the world. They're buying oil cheaply from Iran,
[551.7-558.3] keeping their war machine going. Same thing with Russia. If China stopped buying Iranian oil
[558.3-561.8] or threatened to do it, the war in Iran would be over.
[562.6-570.2] Okay, here's how you know that all of that is theater. China has nuclear technology. Russia
[570.2-575.4] has nuclear technology. And Russia has been Iran's closest ally throughout this whole conflict.
[576.2-582.6] Russia and China have every motive in the world to pressure the West. Either one of those countries,
[582.6-589.4] if they wanted, could easily give Iran a nuke. Here you go, Iran. Have fun. Go use that as leverage.
[590.4-595.6] But they haven't done that. Why? I think it's because they already have all the leverage they need.
[596.3-602.2] A closed straight is slowly draining the world's oil supply. And that is worth more to Russia,
[602.2-608.3] Iran, and arguably China, than a nuclear war. The straight being closed is their economic weapon of
[608.3-614.3] choice. So when they all sit down and say, yeah, Iran could never have a nuclear weapon, right?
[614.3-619.3] That is all just virtue signaling. It's all theater. And you're being told that Hollywood story.
[620.0-626.8] I believe the real story is that China and Russia are using Iran as a proxy, as a middleman
[626.8-633.0] to put pressure on the West so that they could get favorable leverage in this new monetary deal.
[633.6-638.5] Now, who actually benefits from this is Russia, Iran, and China because the longer
[638.5-646.2] Hormuz stays closed, the more urgently the United States needs to make a deal before
[646.2-652.6] its financial markets get exposed by the reality of the broken supply chains. And China now has
[652.6-657.8] enough economic power to buy themselves a seat at the table of this new global monetary
[657.8-665.1] restructuring. So this theory says that that is why Trump flew to China with 18 CEOs. He's like,
[665.1-670.2] all right, guys, let's make a deal. And here's what this theory says they've been trying to build.
[670.2-674.5] And there's two parts to it. There's the part that's been made public, and there's another part
[674.5-680.7] that hasn't. So the public part is this. According to reports from Bloomberg in the New York Times,
[681.3-688.1] Trump and Xi are considering a deal where China invests $1 trillion into the United States.
[688.6-694.7] And most of that money will be used to build factories in America. So think manufacturing plans,
[694.7-700.6] supply chains, industrial infrastructure, and guess what? That is the same strategy
[700.6-707.7] Japanese automakers ran in the 1980s after the plaza accord. Toyota, Honda, Nissan,
[707.7-714.6] building their cars in America, except this time it's Chinese capital or money. And the scale
[714.6-720.1] of this is way bigger. Now, that sounds like a win for America. And Trump can say that this will
[720.1-727.3] bring back jobs, factories, investments, and in some ways it is. But if you remember, China proposed
[727.3-735.3] this deal first in October 2025 during negotiations in Madrid. China gave this offer to Secretary
[735.3-741.4] Scott Bessent, and the terms were this. China is going to flood the US with investment money,
[741.4-746.7] but in exchange the US has to roll back national security restrictions on Chinese deals
[746.7-752.3] and get rid of tariffs for Chinese owned factories built here in the US.
[753.0-759.0] Chinese analysts Henry Wong says Beijing has leverage over Iran as its largest trading partner.
[759.9-767.0] He believes she could provide a much needed offer for Trump, but it's likely to come at a price.
[767.0-772.2] She wants a reduction in tariffs removal of export controls on advanced semi-conductors
[772.2-776.5] and sanctions lifted. But what he wants most is Taiwan.
[776.5-782.2] The question you have to ask is, well why would China want this? What does China get out of investing
[782.2-789.1] a trillion dollars into America? Because it's not a charity case. So think about what they're
[789.1-795.4] actually buying with this money. They are buying market access because America is the biggest consumer
[795.4-801.8] market in the world and China's export economy needs it. They're buying monetary legitimacy,
[801.8-807.3] a seat at the table when the global financial system gets restructured. And gold appreciation.
[807.9-814.2] Because if this deal triggers a repricing of gold, China's huge reserves explode in value.
[814.8-817.4] The trillion dollar investment could potentially pay for itself.
[818.2-822.4] And then there's almost certainly something else that's kind of implied in all of this,
[822.4-825.1] which is Taiwan and rare earths.
[825.1-830.3] It's also critical for America's economy. Taiwan produces more than 90 percent of the world's
[830.5-837.5] most advanced semi-conductors, crucial for AI and defense, making Taiwan ground zero for a global
[837.5-843.4] supply chain. See, the coexistence between the two superpowers, between China and America,
[843.4-849.3] they both know that this facities trap usually ends in war. But China is not going to make the
[849.3-854.3] same mistake Japan made. Remember Japan let their currency get doubled in value overnight.
[854.3-859.9] It destroyed them for 30 years. China will not allow for a direct revaluation of the yuan
[859.9-864.1] against the dollar. That is their hard line. Here's what China is going to do instead.
[864.7-870.9] They can allow for another asset to reprise. They can use that asset as an escape valve for this
[870.9-877.6] repricing. That asset is most likely gold. Here's why. The United States government holds over
[877.6-883.6] 8,000 tons of gold. But here's the thing. On the US government's books, the gold is valued at
[883.6-889.4] only $42 an ounce. That is still the price today which was set way back in 1973.
[890.1-894.7] The actual market price of gold right now is somewhere over four and a half thousand
[894.7-901.0] dollars per ounce. Which means the US is sitting on a balance sheet that is dramatically
[901.7-907.5] understated. China also holds insane amount of gold reserves. We don't really know how much
[907.5-913.5] gold they have but they have a lot. Unlike the US, China has been aggressively accumulating
[913.7-921.4] more gold for years. And according to research from Luke Roman and FFTT, for five of the last six
[921.4-928.8] months, the single biggest export out of the United States, bigger than oil, bigger than pharmaceuticals,
[928.8-935.8] bigger than aircraft engines has been gold, something called non-monetary gold. Physical gold is
[935.8-942.3] leaving America. Where is it going? It's going to China or Switzerland first and then eventually to
[942.3-948.7] China. Why is that such a big deal? It's a big deal because there's a rule of thumb that has held
[948.7-955.9] true throughout basically most of history. The rule is that the country exporting its gold
[955.9-961.3] is usually the one losing and the country importing gold is usually the one winning.
[962.0-966.8] For example, think about what happened to Great Britain in the early 20th century.
[967.4-975.6] As the British Empire declined, gold left London and came into New York. And by the time World War
[975.6-983.4] 2 ended, America held more than half of all the world's gold. That gold pile is literally why the
[983.4-990.0] dollar became the world's reserve currency. The country with the gold writes the rules. Ironically,
[990.0-993.2] you don't see China and all their financial power coming to meet Trump here in America. It's the
[993.2-1001.2] other way around. And right now in 2026, the United States is the single biggest exporter of gold
[1001.2-1007.1] in the world. It's going to China. This is the silhouette of a monetary transition that's
[1007.1-1013.8] happening right now. It's not 100% for sure. But these are sort of like the fingerprints of a
[1013.8-1020.6] deal that is being made in China. And here's what this gold centric plaza accord might actually look
[1020.6-1026.8] like. So instead of China re-valuing the yuan against the dollar which would destroy China's
[1026.8-1033.3] export economy, the way it destroyed Japan's, both sides could allow the dollar to weaken against
[1033.3-1039.6] gold. The US could market's gold reserves to market price. And all of a sudden, the US balance
[1039.6-1045.1] sheet could look dramatically better. The debt burden would look a lot more manageable. The dollar
[1045.1-1051.5] weakens, not against the yuan directly necessarily, but indirectly against gold, which means China's
[1051.5-1057.4] huge gold reserves also go up in value as well. And China gets richer without ever having to touch
[1057.4-1065.0] the yuan exchange rate. Now in return, Chinese money floods into American manufacturing. A trillion
[1065.0-1072.2] dollars of investment for factories, infrastructure, jobs, the American industrial base could potentially
[1072.2-1078.2] get rebuilt, ironically with Chinese money. But either way, Trump gets to look like a hero,
[1078.7-1083.8] and China gets access to American markets. They get tariff relief. And most importantly,
[1083.8-1090.4] they get a seat at the table in this new monetary structure. Chinese cars could potentially hit the
[1090.4-1096.0] US market within about five years from now. And both sides could call it a win. They both get to
[1096.0-1102.0] look like Hollywood heroes that save humanity by not allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
[1102.0-1108.0] The reality of this is that it's most likely a coordinated devaluation of the dollar against
[1108.0-1113.3] something else. And here's what makes me think that this might be more than just a theory.
[1114.1-1119.9] The market could potentially be pricing this in. The insiders know, right? Since late March,
[1120.7-1127.4] right around the time of US treasury markets starting to show signs of stress, the dollar has been
[1127.4-1133.7] falling against the Chinese you on. That is the opposite of what you think would happen
[1133.7-1138.9] in a war that's supposedly designed to put pressure on China, right? The Chinese currency has been
[1138.9-1145.4] getting stronger, not weaker. At the same time, this is the chart which shows a country's borrowing
[1145.4-1150.3] costs. These are bond yields. And you can see the Chinese government's bond yields,
[1150.3-1155.9] that turquoise line, that's been pretty steady. It's been going down. All other countries borrowing
[1155.9-1163.0] costs, including the United States, they're all going up. That is also the opposite of what should
[1163.0-1169.9] be happening, if China was heard by any of this. So the only logical conclusion here is they're not
[1169.9-1175.8] really affected by this. Other nations are because their borrowing costs are going up. And of
[1175.8-1183.0] course, gold has been on an absolute tear. These are just fingerprints of what could be a deal
[1183.0-1188.2] that is sort of underway. The market is sniffing it out before the announcement because smart money,
[1188.8-1195.4] they kind of know this, the insiders know. And if this deal gets done, what happens is the dollar
[1195.4-1201.5] devalues while Chinese investment restructures American manufacturing and it sets off a chain
[1201.5-1208.6] reaction across every asset class. And what that leads to is inflation, right? Inflation is not
[1208.6-1214.4] just the side effect of this deal. It might be the whole point because the dirty secret of modern
[1214.4-1221.8] finance is that inflation is how you make unpayable debt, payable again, but you inflate it away.
[1222.4-1229.4] A dollar of debt borrowed in 2020 gets repaid in 20, 30 dollars, then our worth half as much.
[1230.2-1236.5] So the debt shrinks in real terms. And the way normal people experience this is through the price
[1236.5-1243.7] of eggs, rent and gas. But inflation doesn't hit everyone equally. Right? If you own assets like
[1243.7-1249.2] stocks and real estate, gold, Bitcoin, ancient gold coins, Pokemon cards, watches, whatever.
[1250.0-1256.9] Inflation makes you richer. Your assets go up in what's called the nominal value. So you get protected.
[1257.6-1262.2] This is the top half of what economists call the K-shaped economy, the line that goes up.
[1262.8-1267.7] But if you don't own assets and you're living paycheck to paycheck and your wealth is in a savings
[1267.7-1274.5] account somewhere, then inflation destroys you. Your dollar buys you less over time, which means
[1274.5-1280.2] your rent goes up, your groceries cost more and wages don't keep pace. That is literally what's
[1280.2-1284.5] happening right now in the data. That's the bottom half of the K, the line that's going down.
[1285.4-1290.2] But now, layer in on top of all of that, what's happening with AI.
[1291.2-1296.6] The AI revolution that's making the top half of the economy more productive is also
[1297.4-1303.3] getting rid of the jobs that the bottom half depends on. Like customer service, right? Data entry,
[1303.3-1307.7] trucking, manufacturing, warehouse work. These changes are literally happening right now.
[1308.5-1312.5] And not everyone's going to be able to adapt because math and statistics,
[1313.3-1321.1] transitions of this scale always leave some people behind. That creates anger. It creates
[1321.1-1327.4] low consumer sentiment, which is what we're seeing in the data. The kind that sometimes leads to
[1327.4-1333.8] social instability, protests unrest, and potentially a breakdown of trust and institutions.
[1334.6-1339.8] And the people that are sort of engineering this monetary transition, the central planners,
[1340.5-1345.2] they've known this was coming for a long time. And that's why they've built the infrastructure
[1345.2-1351.2] to manage it. Now they call it financial innovation, digital identity, programmable currency,
[1351.2-1359.3] digital ID, the world run on algorithms. But what it really is is a centralization of power.
[1359.3-1364.2] It's a digital control grid. And you need people on their best behavior when the class divide gets
[1364.2-1369.7] worse. So the tools to do that are being built right now. And if you want to learn more about
[1369.7-1373.1] that, you can watch it somewhere up here. But it's called the digital control grid.
[1373.1-1378.1] So tying all of this together. Just remember that all of this is a theory. These are the most
[1378.1-1383.8] informed guesses we can make with the information available right now. So the deal might never get
[1383.8-1390.6] done, right? Hormuz might reopen tomorrow. And maybe this gold theory is completely wrong. Or maybe
[1390.6-1396.2] it's right. But we don't know exactly where this inflation gets absorbed. Will gold be the
[1396.2-1402.8] absorber of all the inflation? Will it be consumer prices? Will it be a combination of both? We don't
[1402.8-1408.8] know. And maybe the digital control grid is all just paranoia. Regardless whether this is plaza
[1408.8-1415.4] cord 2.0 or whether the supply chains break and markets crash, which is also another possibility,
[1415.4-1421.9] I think all scenarios sort of point to the same thing. The dollar loses value. And the people
[1421.9-1428.7] who are protected are the ones who own the assets. So the question is which side of the K-shaped
[1428.7-1436.3] economy are you on? If your wealth is sitting in cash or in a savings account in dollars, you might
[1436.3-1442.0] be on the wrong side of the trade. The assets that make sense to hold in this environment are ones
[1442.0-1448.4] that governments can't print more of. Now gold is the obvious choice, right? Bitcoin is another one.
[1448.4-1454.4] This is not investment advice or a call to buy anything. It's just an asset that the government
[1454.4-1461.3] can't print more of. And broadly speaking, any asset that has scarcity and utility. So far,
[1461.3-1468.2] this story is not over. This deal is probably not been signed yet. The oil crisis hasn't peaked.
[1468.2-1472.7] Right? Kevin Warsh hasn't taken over the Fed yet. There's still a lot more coming. There's
[1472.7-1477.2] a lot more to this story. And I'll be breaking it down as it develops. But for now,
[1477.2-1482.6] this theory makes a lot of sense. And if you want to see how I'm personally preparing for all of this,