© AP Photo / Markus Schreiber
The United States' global standing is declining and the country is heading for a clash with China, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday, adding that "the million dollar question" is whether this clash can be avoided.
"We are now seeing that America's dominance on the world stage is constantly shrinking... We are now living through the most dangerous moments in world politics, when the number one world power sees that it is slipping into second place... We are moving toward a clash day by day. The million dollar question is whether it is possible to avoid a collision," Orban said in the Romanian city of Baile Tusnad, as aired by the local broadcaster.
It is "an inconvenient truth" for the US that "the current processes favor Asia and China in terms of economy, technological development and military power," the prime minister argued, citing several successful Chinese projects, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the BRICS club and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, "whose resources for development are several times greater than those of all Western countries."
Orban also spoke about a long-term plan "to make China great again" and a medium-term program to "restore dominance in Asia that existed before the West's arrival." He also said that "the Chinese are simply laughing" at US soft power and so-called universal values, as such concepts "run counter to most non-Western states."
Comment: This comment from Orban is particularly notable considering the following event:
President Xi meets with China's 'old friend' Henry Kissinger in Beijing, Washington says visit was not on behalf of US gov'tAnd the meaning of Kissinger's visit is analysed in detail in the following Twitter thread:
100-year-old Henny Kissinger went to China for what reason? It's not about US debt, not about the trade war, not even about Taiwan. In this thread, we find out what Kissinger and Xi discussed behind closed doors, something that will affect us all.
#1/10 The biggest threat to the world is not China, but $31.4 trillion US debt. US bonds price will crash inevitably and nuke many countries' economies. Hundreds of millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in pensions will disappear. Why wouldn't Kissinger ask China to help?
#2/10 When Xi Jinping started his 1st term, he was advised that the Chinese economy couldn't withstand the US bonds crash. China's deleveraging campaign was launched in 2013. It sent the two largest real estate developers to bankruptcy in 2021. Did Xi make a deadly mistake?
#3/10 During my first visit in 2018, everyone in China was in a state of euphoria. Businesses borrowed like crazy to expand. Housing prices were sky-high. Jack Ma was further expanding his empire by giving young Chinese free loans. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
#4/10 By popping its own financial and real estate bubbles, in a controlled manner, the Chinese government defused an economic time bomb. But Western experts say Xi is driving China into the brink of collapse, right?
#5/10 I went shopping for a new condo last week. My agent told me that, yes, local govts had to step in and fund most unfinished building projects. And things weren't great for the last 3 years. But she's busy again. Home buyers are taking advantage of lower housing prices.
#6/10 Here's a gorgeous 100 square meters condo with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for 1.6 million RMB. But I digress. Back to Kissenger.
#7/10 If a 100-year-old man is going to go on a plane for 14 hours, he'll need a medical team along with him. Kissenger jeopardized his health to travel to China for what reason? It's got to be something about his own legacy.
#8/10 China has spent the past decade insulating itself from the inevitable US bonds crash. It won't be as enthusiastic about saving the US as in 2008. The US economy is near its end. The only exit is war. Kissinger travelled to Beijing to discuss the possibility of war.
#9/10 Kissinger's trip to Beijing has only one purpose - to discuss how to minimize damage when (not if) a war breaks out between China and the US. I hate being so doom and gloom. But here is a Chinese phrase - 危机 Whenever danger lurks, opportunity awaits.
Indeed the US is ramping up its provocations against China, however how this war on China and how it will progress remains to be seen. However what is clear is that the US-led West is failing in its proxy war on Russia, and so it's highly unlikely that it'd get very far in a proxy war, or direct war, with China.
Comment: This comment from Orban is particularly notable considering the following event: President Xi meets with China's 'old friend' Henry Kissinger in Beijing, Washington says visit was not on behalf of US gov't
And the meaning of Kissinger's visit is analysed in detail in the following Twitter thread:
Indeed the US is ramping up its provocations against China, however how this war on China and how it will progress remains to be seen. However what is clear is that the US-led West is failing in its proxy war on Russia, and so it's highly unlikely that it'd get very far in a proxy war, or direct war, with China.