The Diary of a CEOThe Man Who Predicted The Iran War: The Next 9/11 Will Target Your Bank Account! | Professor Jiang
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
85 min read · 16,532 words- 0:00 – 2:09
Intro
- JXJiang Xueqin
I think there are a lot of people who do not like what I'm saying. I am one of the most polarizing figures in the world right now, but I'm trying to prepare everyone. And what I want to explain to you today, Steven, is why the world is collapsing. Because having studied patterns of history and global supply chains, I now recognize and I have a framework to predict the future, and I brought to you three horrifying predictions structured around 9/11.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So what are your predictions? I've been dying to know.
- JXJiang Xueqin
My first prediction, if there is another 9/11 attack, it'll be an attack on the U.S. financial infrastructure. Imagine one day you open your iPhone and you're looking to buy a coffee, and all the money in your bank account has been wiped out, and they don't know when or how long it will take them to retrieve it. I believe that's what makes Americans most vulnerable and therefore the most easily traumatized.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What's prediction number two?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Is that Lionel Messi will become president of Argentina.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Oh, wow. I wasn't expecting that. And also, do you think Trump is gonna have a third term?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Let's take a friendly bet and say $100 Trump gets a third term, there'll be a siege of New York City.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Prediction three.
- JXJiang Xueqin
My third prediction is that-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Are you sure? You don't think that the U.S. will actually do that, though?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, I understand a lot of this is going to be extremely pessimistic, but we are living in a time of not just war, but also the regression of civilization. We've basically hit the height of technological advancement.
- SBSteven Bartlett
The word collapse you use, though, is a strong word.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. I am positive that we are seeing the collapse of civilization. All the suffering that we have might have seen on television, it is coming to us in our lives, and the world is essentially running out of time, and I will paint a clear and simple picture of what is about to come.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What would have to be the case for none of these sort of catastrophic things to take place?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, the only thing that gives me hope is-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Before this episode starts, I have a small favor to ask you. Two months ago, 61% of the people that watched this channel weren't subscribed. We're now down to 58%. My goal is 50%. So if you've ever liked any of the videos we've made on this channel, if you like this channel, can you do me a small quick favor and hit the subscribe button? It helps this channel more than you know, and the bigger the channel gets, the more we can invest in the guests and the production. Thank you, and enjoy this episode. [upbeat music]
- 2:09 – 10:15
Where Is the World Heading?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Professor Jiang, what is front of mind for you at the moment? Your energy is giving me something's on my mind. What is that?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I think that we are living in a, a time when the world is collapsing. And so what I want to explain to you today, Steven, is how we got to the world that we are in and why it is collapsing. So first thing I wanna explain to you is the, um, petrodollar system, which is the basis for the global economy. So let's go back to the year 1945, and this is the end of World War II and the United States is dominant. The United States will manufacture goods for Europe and for Japan, which were destroyed in World War II. So what the United States said is, "We will lend you the U.S. dollars in order to purchase the goods that we will export to you, but you have to promise to pay us back in gold." And United States became complacent. They were spending money they shouldn't have been spending. United States went from a creditor nation to a debtor nation. So in the year 1971, Richard Nixon said that the U.S. dollar would no longer be pegged to the gold. And so the question now was, if the U.S. dollar is no longer pegged to gold, then what is the value of the U.S. dollar? So Richard Nixon had to create demand for the U.S. dollar. And so three things happened after the something called the Nixon Shock, 1971 Nixon Shock, right? So the first was the creation of the petrodollar. So Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East agreed to sell their oil only in U.S. dollars. So if you want to buy oil, energy, you need U.S. dollars. Late '70s, early '80s, China said the same thing. "If you want our cheap manufactured g- goods, you have to pay in U.S. dollars." Mid-'80s was something called the Plaza Accord, where Japan agreed to take all its savings and buy U.S. treasuries.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So it's essentially they're buying a, a promise from the U.S.?
- JXJiang Xueqin
All this is based on promises, right? The U.S. dollar is a contract. It's a promise. China promises to give you manufactured goods, and Saudi Arabia promises to give you oil. This system, the petrodollar system, create the world that we live in today. So let me explain why. All right. So this is a semiconductor, right? And it's the basis of all technology, of all computer, and there are three critical elements in a semiconductor: silicon, they are gallium, and they are germanium, okay? There are many more elements, but these are the three most critical, and these three together allow, uh, semiconductors to achieve almost impossible technology. For example, pr- precision missiles, satellite communication, all based on these three elements working together. Why we have these three elements in place is because of this global system. Because- Silicon is mainly manufactured in China. About 67% of the world's silicon comes from China. 70% of gallium comes from China. 90% of the world's germanium comes from China. Now, for semiconductors to work, the process is this. The United States, mainly in California, Nvidia or Apple, they will design very advanced semiconductor chips to power the iPhone, to power your video games. Then the United States will send this chip design over to Taiwan and Malaysia for the manufacture of these chips. The Netherlands and Japan will create machines to print out these semiconductors. So a company in the Netherlands called ASML, they manufacture lithography machines that are worth $400 million each. Then these lithography machines and the chip design go to Taiwan, primarily Taiwan, but also Malaysia as well, in order to manufacture these chips. And then these chips are then sent to China to be put into appliances. So when you see this semiconductor, you're not just seeing a piece of metal and plastic. You're really seeing the world converging together. So I want you to remember this formula, and this will help us explain how the world works. This formula is very simple. Technological progress is correlated with specialization times globalization. This is the formula. Okay, so it's very simple. All technological, technological progress is premised on more countries being able to specialize and these countries being able to trade freely with each other. And what makes this all possible is global trade that is supported by two things. The first, of course, is the U.S. dollar. The second thing that's most important is, is the U.S. military hegemony.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Hegemony meaning?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Meaning there, there are no peer competitor. There is no one who can challenge the United States in control of the seas.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So you're coming now to the point of why you think-- 'cause the, the claim at the top was that the world is collapsing.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Exactly. I bring this all up because we need to appreciate what technological innovation is. If technolo- technological innovation is specialization times globalization, then we are living in a time of not just war, but also the regression of civilization. So in other words, my argument to you today is we've basically hit the apex, the height of technological advancement. We cannot go any further because in order for technology to progress, you need greater specialization and you need greater globalization. But what we're seeing right now is this war in Iran, it will cause a chain of events that will force all nations to become much more general, okay? So you'll see a decline in specialization, and they'll become much more nationalistic. They will need to create self-sufficient supply chains. So you will see a decline in globalization, and therefore technology, the progress will have to decline.
- SBSteven Bartlett
The word collapse you use, though, is a strong word.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Is that the word you meant?
- JXJiang Xueqin
That's exactly the word I meant. We are living not through World War III. We are not living through a shifting of the global order. We are-- We will live through, over the next 20 years, the collapse of civilization itself.
- SBSteven Bartlett
The collapse of civilization itself?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Are you sure?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I am positive that we are seeing, um, the collapse of civilization.
- 10:15 – 14:02
What Would a Collapse of Civilization Actually Look Like?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Give me some definition around the collapse of civilization, because people could infer that as, oh, you know, the, the dollar's not gonna be as strong, or they could say, "Okay, we're not gonna innovate as much," or I don't know if fuel prices are gonna go up. But the collapse of civilization.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. So let's go back to World War II, okay? In World War II, if you lived in Europe or Asia, it really seemed like the end of the world. Tens of millions of people died in that war. But at the same time, you had a superpower that was emerging, the United States of America. So at the end of World War II, America was so powerful that it was able, at the end of World War II, to create a new world order and basically finance and defend this new world order called Pax Americana. And we are seeing the last days of Pax Americana. And then you ask yourself, well, then let China emerge, or maybe Russia will emerge, or maybe Israel wi- will emerge to replace Pax Americana. And unfortunately, what we know is that systems in decline, empires in decline do not go willingly, okay? So the historical analogy I would use is the Bronze Age collapse, because the Bronze Age was very similar to this period in our history when the entire world was globalized. Because in order to make bronze, you needed both copper and tin, and these places were found in different places of the world, and that allowed for global integration. But because of global in- in- integration, over time, you, that led to massive inequality, debt, and polarization. And so when the system collapsed, the entire world collapsed. So I, I would argue the closest historical a- analogy that we have Um, t-t-today is a Bronze Age collapse
- SBSteven Bartlett
What was life like in the Bronze Age collapse, or how was it different pre-Bronze Age collapse versus post-Bronze Age collapse?
- JXJiang Xueqin
So during the Bronze Age collapse, what happened was there was a perfect series of crises that caused systematic collapse. Okay? The first was change in weather patterns, climate changed, which led to famine, primarily in Europe. Okay? We have famine and people are starving. What do people do? They migrate, okay? They migrate to areas that have food, and that, this, this place is primarily going to be Anatolia and Egypt. These migrants overwhelm the systems of Egypt and Anatolia, and this would cause a cascading effect where the entire world lost order. These migrants were called the Sea Peoples, and they were destroying traditional hierarchies and authorities. And once that happened, then the very fundamental elements of civilization disappeared. So if we apply this analogy to today, then I'm gonna paint for you a scenario, uh, of what might happen. All right? So we have this war in the Middle East that is only expanding. It's bringing in more and more countries. So as you may know, um, since we last spoke, basically all of Iran's proxies have been brought into the war. This includes the Houthis, which occupies this part of Yemen.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So
- 14:02 – 16:41
Who Are the Houthis—and Why Do They Matter?
- SBSteven Bartlett
the Houthis are a group of, um, military that are in favor of Iran?
- JXJiang Xueqin
The Houthis are an ethnic group in Yemen, and Yemen is a country that is divided according to tribes. The thing with the Houthis is, first of all, they live in the mountains, so it's almost impossible to dislodge the Houthis. Saudi Arabia tried for five years. It didn't work. The other thing about the Houthis is they are a Shia tribe people. Now, there's Shia Muslim and there's Sunni Muslim. The ma- the vast majority of Muslim in the world are Sunni, about 90% of the entire global Muslim population. The Shia are about 10%. And as a result, because they're the mi- the minority, the Shia are much more fanatical than the Sunni, and this has always been historically true. They believe in martyrdom. So in other words, uh, the, the Houthis will fight to the death. They're not afraid of death. Okay? And the third thing about the Houthis that we need to appreciate is they control this critical choke point called the Bab el-Mandab Strait. This is, this is the Red Sea. So a lot of trade has to go through the Red Sea. Now, what we know is Iran has already closed off the Strait of Hormuz, and the easiest and cheapest way for Saudi Arabia to get its oil to East Asia and South, South Asia is by the sea. So Saudi Arabia cannot actually transport its oil. Okay? So that's the first group that is now involved in this war, the Houthis. Then you have Hezbollah, okay, which is in Lebanon right here, and they are now fighting Israel. Hezbollah is also a Shia group, so they are also very fanatical. And then you also have Iraq, the Shia militias that are basically their own independent militaries. So all four are, have been brought into the war now. You have Iran, you have the Houthis, you have Hezbollah, and you have the Shia militia in Iraq. Why is this important? Because they span the entire Middle East, and so we are now seeing expansion of the war, and over time, what might happen is more and more nations have been brought into the war to protect their own interests.
- SBSteven Bartlett
How is this different
- 16:41 – 23:09
Why This Is Different From the Iraq War
- SBSteven Bartlett
from, you know, I grew up with this Iraq War
- JXJiang Xueqin
Mm-hmm
- SBSteven Bartlett
And there was lots of conflict in the Middle East. There was always fighting going on, and it's, it feels like it's been a function of my, of my childhood, is that the Middle East are always fighting in some capacity somewhere. And it, you know, eventually there's a peace in Iraq, and the war kind of stops, and ISIS is decapitated or whatever, and it just kind of moves around a little bit.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah. Great question, but what's happening today is very different from two th- 2003. 2003, the United States went in to get, decapitate Saddam Hussein and his government, and that was easy to do because you had a government that was not very popular amongst, uh, the people. So America specializes in shock and awe military tactics. The problem today is you have four different groups. You have the IRGC in Iran, you have the Houthis in Yemen, you have Hezbollah in Lebanon, you have the Shia militia in Iraq. They are decentralized, they are fanatical, and they share a similar eschatology. They share a similar religious framework. And as a result, what we know is the United States military is not very good at fighting guerrilla insurgents. We know because of what happened in Afghanistan as well as Iran. These two are w- what is often ref- referred to as twen- as forever wars, where the United States spent trillions of dollars over, over 20 years to try to squash insurgents, and they failed miserably. So w- because these four groups are coordinating but they're decentralized, this means that this war can only expand over time. Now, Saudi Arabia is, feels threatened by the Houthis. So what Saudi Ara- Arabia has done is most recently it's signed something called the Mecca Accords Turkey and Pakistan. Okay? So Turkey and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia now must come to each other's defense. And it seems to me of these three countries, Saudi Arabia will be the first to invoke this mutual defense pact against the Houthis. So you can see a situation where Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia is brought into war to try to dislodge the Houthis. But we know that the Houthis in their mountain retreat are almost invincible. So this war can only expand, and the Houthis, in response, what they can do is destroy the energy infrastructure of Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have ballistic missiles, they have drones, and Saudi Arabia is this giant lake of gasoline ready to be blown up or lit up by the Houthis at any time.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You know, back in the early 2000s, there was the Al-Qaeda, there was ISIS, there was, you know, there was still Hezbollah and Hamas. So how is, how is this different? Because there was lots of military militant groups.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Great question. Okay. Why this is different is there is active coordination amongst these groups. So Al-Qaeda, ISIS, they were working separately, but the, there are three proxies, okay? You have the Houthis, you have the Hezbollah in Lebanon, you have the Shia militia. They all report back to the IRGC in Iran. And here's the kicker, this is really important. Both China and Russia are supporting Iran in this conflict. China is supporting Iran through the Belt and Road Initiative, basically transporting goods to Iran through this corridor, and Russia is supporting Iran through the Caspian Sea. As a result, Iran, in theory, could fight this war indefinitely. Okay? That's one thing that we have to appreciate. There's a clear alliance in place to make sure that Iran and its proxies can withstand this war. The other thing that's really important for us to appreciate is that the Middle East, it is the heart and center of the petrodollar system. It takes all these barrels of oil in the GCC countries and transports them to India, Pakistan, China, Japan. Okay? And what then happens is the, the East Asia takes these barrels of oil, energy. Um, can you put the, the Merrill brothers in Japan?
- SBSteven Bartlett
What are these little figurines you're asking me to put in Japan?
- JXJiang Xueqin
So this represents Japan's contribution to the global economy. So it takes energy from the Middle East and turns them into manufactured products, consumer electronic products for the world to consume. It makes these in U.S. dollars and China, Japan, and the GCC all invest their s- excess savings in the United States, which allows United States to focus on innovation, to create places like New York City. New York City is also a very specialized area because it basically is the financial center of the world. Okay? So all this is the petrodollar system. A- a- as you can see, the system is dependent on free trade, but once the oil stops flowing, then what happens is China, Japan are no longer able to make the manufactured goods they need to export, and United State loses all these recycled U.S. dollars. So the three biggest buyers of U.S. treasuries, basically the three biggest financiers of the U- of the U.S. economy, basically the AI bubble, are Japan, the GCC, and China. So we will see a cascading effect where maybe in a few months' time the system collapses.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you know what,
- 23:09 – 26:33
Why Is It So Hard to Believe a Collapse Could Happen?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Professor? One of the reasons why I think it's quite hard for, and I'm just gonna be completely honest, people can take this as they take it, but it's just me being honest. One of the reasons why it's quite hard to believe that, you know, the world is, is gonna collapse and that this is gonna be like the Bronze Age collapse, I was, I was actually reading about the Bronze Age collapse after you mentioned it, and what I've, I've pulled up here says, "The late Bronze Age collapse was a rapid, violent, and widespread societal breakdown that occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean between approximately 1200 and 1150 BCE. Before the collapse, the region was heavily globalized. Major superpowers like the Egyptians, et cetera, et cetera, were deeply inter- interconnected through diplomacy, royal marriages, and complex international trade networks. But within a span of just 50 years, almost every significant city in the Eastern Mediterranean was destroyed and many were never rebuilt." And there's a map which I'll throw up on the screen which shows this breakdown. I, here's my honesty. As a 34-year-old, I have lived a very-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Charmed life
- SBSteven Bartlett
... charmed life-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah
- SBSteven Bartlett
... as it relates to his- you know, history and the things that happened in history. So when we hear these things that, you know, the society will break down, there'll be civil collapse, we don't really have a reference point, uh-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah
- SBSteven Bartlett
... as, like, Gen Zs and millennials really. Our parents and their parents, they have, you know, reference points from World War II, et cetera, in the 1940s, et cetera, but we don't really have them, so it seems all to be quite, you know, that can't happen to us.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah. You're absolutely right, and I think a lot of the issue is- The world has been constructed in a way to maintain the privileges of the Western populations. An example I use is, um, you say that we've lived a charmed life. Well, if you've been, if you lived in Iraq, Afghanistan, these places, you do not live a charmed life-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah
- JXJiang Xueqin
... because United States came and attacked you for no particular reason, and they destroyed the very infrastructure of your society. Even today, Iraq and Afghanistan are engulfed in political violence and war and political assassinations. And so you've never known if you were a child in Iraq or Afghanistan, and even in Africa, you've never, you've never known peace, stability, and prosperity. So the inequality in the world is stark, and we in the West have been extremely privileged to be sheltered from a lot of the chaos in the world. In fact, the U.S. empire is designed to ensure the populations never have to suffer the tragedy and suffering of other people. And what I'm trying to say is, this U.S. empire is breaking down, and there's nothing that we can do to stop it. So all the suffering that, that we have might have seen on television, it is coming to us in our lives, and we need to be aware of it.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When you say it's coming to us in our lives-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah
- SBSteven Bartlett
... what's coming to us in our lives?
- JXJiang Xueqin
The same political violence, the same chaos, the same political po-polarization that has infested the rest of the world.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you think
- 26:33 – 29:56
Could War Actually Reach American Shores?
- SBSteven Bartlett
war is coming to our shores? Because we now live in a post new nuclear bomb era.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And that seems to have created, in a weird way, a bit of peace-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Right
- SBSteven Bartlett
... between superpowers.
- JXJiang Xueqin
So I'm gonna go to the screen.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay.
- JXJiang Xueqin
And I'm going to paint you a picture of our global supply chains and what it means for our global supply chains to break down using a few maps. And these maps, I hope, will paint a clear and simple picture of what is, what is about to come.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Can I ask you a question just before we go to the screen?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Sure.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Have you always been pessimistic about the future?
- JXJiang Xueqin
No.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When did you become pessimistic about the future?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I became very pessimistic about the future after Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, because I was an immigrant who grew up in a very poor family. My father was a dishwasher, and he was a dishwasher for 30 years before he retired. We were so poor we couldn't even afford a car. We never took any vacations, but I worked hard. I got into Yale University, one of the best colleges in the world, and not only that, but I went there on a full scholarship. So from my perspective, the world was perfect. It was a meritocracy. It was a place that rewarded talent and hard work. So I believed that the world was governed by reason, by logic, by science, by truth, by good people. And when Brexit and the election of Donald Trump happened, I was traumatized. Brexit was the British people turning away from globalization. The election of Donald Trump, from my perspective, was the American rejection of meritocracy, of reason, of truth, of, of order. And when that happened, it sort of told me what I believed about the world didn't really work. And when those things happened, that forced me to reflect deeply on why the world was, was breaking down. And those events led me to today, because what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to figure out patterns of history, principles of society that allow us to better understand ourselves. And that's why I drew you this formula, because traditionally, we understood innovation as maybe coming from universities. And having studied history, having studied global supply chains, I now recognize that no, technology just comes from specialization and globalization. And this not only is an analysis of the current world, but it also gives us a framework to predict the future, right? So if in a time of war, specialization and globalization break down, then in theory, technology should break down as well. Okay? And that's what, what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to figure out how and why we are we, where we are today.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So you wanted to draw something on the whiteboard?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay. Right. [paper rustling]
- 29:56 – 38:41
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- SBSteven Bartlett
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- JXJiang Xueqin
So this is a summary of the global supply chain network, and we can see how it involves the entire world. You are not able to build semiconductors unless you have a globalized economy. So there's been a lot of talk about China controlling the elements, right? So China manufactures about, uh, 70% of the world's silicon and rare earths. China controls about sev- seventy percent of rare earths. What people don't appreciate is it works both ways, [chuckles] okay? So China does export a lot of silicon and rare earths, but it also needs to import a lot of helium in order to sustain its semiconductor manufacturing process. The reason why is helium cools the semiconductors in a way, um, to, to allow it for it to be manufactured, okay? So helium is a cooling agent. Another thing that people don't appreciate is people think that China has a monopoly on rare earths. But America, in a place called Spruce Pine, Spruce Pine, North Carolina, this area has a monopoly on high-quality quartz. It controls about 90% of the world's high-quality q-quartz, which you need in the silicon manufacturing process as well. Okay? So if these nations start to stop trading with each, each other, technology would cease to progress. Now, something to keep r- in mind is it's not just semiconductors that are dependent on the global supply chain. Food is also very dependent on the glo-global supply chain. So what we're seeing is a stark contrast between the North and the South. So the North, okay, produces most of the world's fertilizer and the South, okay, primarily Africa, the Middle East, and South America, they import a lot of the fertilizer. This map shows it much more clearly, okay? So ammonia is a very important component of fertilizer, and as you can see, most of the ammonia production plants are actually in the north of the world, Canada, United States, Europe, China, Russia. So the South, the Global South, is dependent on the North for food. In a time of war when global supply chains break down, the North might lose access to fancy wireless smartphones. The South will face famine. Okay? Why is this important? Because the world is rife with conflict. The main issue that we're-- we will face next twenty years is not oil. It's actually water. All right? So this m-map that we're seeing right now is actually telling us where the next major geopolitical flashpoints are. So basically, if you see red on the map, it means this place has water scarcity issues, and the red issues tell us exactly where wars will erupt. Okay? So even in the United States, if you look at the western part of the United States, they do have water scarcity issues. And actually, if you go to, uh, the western United States, Colorado, California, Arizona, these places, they're fighting over the Colorado River [chuckles] because the Colo-Co-Colorado River is what supplies most of their water. You go to the Middle East and you know that the Middle East, it's almost like a dynamite ready to explode. And what this war will do is aggravate all the tensions in the Middle East. India itself is facing water shortages, which brings it into conflict with China, okay? So this one map, if you can just see it, it basically tells you, um, where the next geopolitical flashpoints will be. It means a place that is most likely to go to war or c- have conflict or political violence over the next twenty years. Okay? But also here is North, uh, East Asia. Japan is here. North Korea is here. Okay? So that's another major flashpoint. So this is what, over the next twenty years, where war is most likely to break out. Okay? But what's important to appreciate is once war breaks out, there are third order effects, um, causing conflict to spread around the world. Okay? This is a really important map for us to appreciate as well. This map tells us fertility rates around the world. As you can see, Africa has the world's highest fertility rate, followed by the Middle East. Okay
- SBSteven Bartlett
So they're having the most children per couples
- JXJiang Xueqin
That's right. Why is this a problem? Because if you go back to the previous map, this area is also where there is the most geopolitical tension. And so if there are more and more children, young people being born here, they have no choice but to migrate. And where will they migrate? Probably to Europe. And you're like, "Well, okay. Well, then what Europe should do is turtle up. Europe should build walls and prevent these migrants from reaching Europe." But Europe has its own problem, which is the aging crisis. Okay? So look at what's happening where the fastest aging populations are, in fact, in the most developed nations, including Japan, Europe, and North America. So if you have an aging population, you need to provide cheap healthcare, nursing. What, what does that mean? It means you have to let in more immigrants in order to surface the aging population. And what will happen then is domestic conflict, where you have more migration into Western societies, which brings them into conflict with the native populations, and therefore it is possible you have civil war, as well as political violence, and even the possibility of revolution. Okay? So these maps collectively paint a very grim picture of the world that we're, we're living in.
- 38:41 – 41:34
How Immigration Could Push Politics Further Right
- SBSteven Bartlett
On this page here about immigration causing civil war, political violence, revolution, won't it just be the case, as we're seeing, that these Western societies will increasingly elect right-wing political parties? Which is kind of what we're seeing. We're seeing, you know, parties in the UK like Reform surge. I think there was news yesterday in Germany of a, the political party there. We're seeing, I mean, we're seeing the same in the United States as well.
- JXJiang Xueqin
That, that's a fantastic point. That's ex- that's exactly what we're seeing. We're seeing the AfD surge in Germany. You know, MAGA being very dominant in the United States. We're seeing Vox in Spain. So in theory, what's gonna happen is these countries become much more right wing, and then they block out immigration because that, that is their main policy platform.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And that should stop the civil war.
- JXJiang Xueqin
The problem is: What do you do about your aging population?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Robots.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Exactly, right? That's what you would think, but what we're seeing is a breakdown in global supply chains. Robots depend on copper, right, which you get from Chile, Peru, China, Australia. These are pretty far away places from Europe and the United States, right? You also need lithium, which you get from the Lithium Triangle. Again, pretty far away. You also need silicon, which is, um, mainly manufactured in China. You need rare earths, which again, is really manufactured in China. So this, you have this huge issue where, in theory, you could use robots, but in a, when, when global supply chain breaks down, you have to figure out the cheapest way to resolve the labor issue, and the cheapest solution is immigration, right? People, I hate to say this, but people are much cheaper and much more expendable than robots. So I know this is a bit scary. I know this is really depressing, okay? But what if the United States were able to win this war in Iran and conduct regime change? Then our problems are solved, right? Now Iran is under the control of the United States, and we're back to globalization, where oil is able to flow to South, uh, Asia, to East Asia, and then they manufacture goods and then recycle their profits into the US economy. And with all this money, AI is able to innovate to a point where we achieve AGI, and then we solve all the world's problems, okay?
- SBSteven Bartlett
So what
- 41:34 – 42:36
What Happens Next With Iran?
- SBSteven Bartlett
happens next with this whole Iran situation?
- JXJiang Xueqin
So unfortunately, it has now developed, uh, its own momentum, right? So let me explain what is most likely to happen. Okay, so you have Iran, and you are now controlling the Strait of Hormuz, right? You have the Houthis, and they control the Bab el-Mandab Strait. You have Hezbollah, which can threaten the Suez Canal. You have the Shia militias that can also threaten the Mediterranean, right? From a game theory perspective, what Iran should do next is take the initiative and disrupt all global trade. And the reason why is the US empire is based on the petrodollar. It's based on global trade. When you disrupt global trade at the same time, there's no way for the United States to respond.
- SBSteven Bartlett
How could they disrupt
- 42:36 – 44:18
How Iran Could Disrupt Global Trade
- SBSteven Bartlett
global trade?
- JXJiang Xueqin
What they can do is start to attack randomly, okay? So what Hu- Hou- Houthis are gonna do is attack Saudi Arabia. Um, Iraq can, um, attack Israel. Iran can attack the Strait of Hormuz. Uh, Hezbollah can attack the Suez Canal, okay? And why you do that is you're creating uncertainty and chaos in the global trade system. Why is that important? Because the global trade system is built on Confidence, and that's what drives insurance. Okay? So if you're an insurance company and you're like, "Oh my God, these countries are..." Sorry, "These actors are completely out of control. The United States has lost control over the situation," you can no longer insure global shipping. [laughs] If you can't insure global shipping, global shipping ceases to work. All right? So this is the madman theory, and this is Iran's best play moving forward. And the reason why is the United States does not have the military capacity to respond to a coordinated random strike across the Middle East.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So is this your prediction? Is this what happens next?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I don't wanna make this prediction just because there are lots of factors I do not know. Okay? So the, so first of all, I don't know politically what the situation is in Iran. Certainly the IRGC would wanna do this, but there are political factions within Iran who would think this is too provocative, and it's possible the entire world would unite against Iran if Iran were to do this.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So what is your prediction,
- 44:18 – 46:11
The Iran Prediction—and What Happens Next
- SBSteven Bartlett
um, in terms of Iran and what happens next?
- JXJiang Xueqin
My prediction is this will only escalate. How it will escalate, I don't know. Okay? But the Trump card, to use a pun, for Iran is to start to disrupt global trade. But United States has a response, and this response is to attack Iran's critical civil infrastructure, which includes desalination plants and power plants. And this would be worse than using a nuclear weapon on Iran because without power plants, the people in Tehran, a, a city of about 10 million people, they face starvation because a lot of this food is refrigerated. This is how the war becomes almost civilization destroying if Iran were to completely disrupt global trade and if the United States were to destroy the power plants of Iran.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Obviously, that would be horrific and, uh, and sort of inconceivably horrifying for the people that live in Iran, the innocent people that are caught in the middle of this. You don't think that the US will actually do that though, right?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I think the United States will be forced to do it.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You think they'll be forced to do it?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. According to game theory, they will be forced to behave like this because we need to appreciate this formula, where the more power you have, the less imagination and empathy you have. You, and so the idea is you don't think killing millions of Iranians is a too heavy a price. It's all worth it if you can maintain the empire. The hubris leads you to believe that the gods favor you, and you ultimately win and triumph in this great struggle.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Don't you create
- 46:11 – 47:36
Could This Trigger a Massive Migration Crisis?
- SBSteven Bartlett
a huge migration crisis where people start fleeing from Iran up into Europe because they are starving?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Exactly. Right? [laughs] Not just Iran, but Africa as well, because they've lost access to cheap energy and fertilizer. So you have all this migration into Europe, which would overwhelm European, the European social fabric, which would overwhelm the European state. But unfortunately, this has been happening at a much slower pace ever since 2014, when, for whatever reason, the United States chose to destroy Libya and cause a civil war in Syria, which caused millions to migrate into Europe. And as you remember, the Europeans, in their generosity, accepted all these migrants, which is leading, which has led to tremendous social friction and political tension in Europe today.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So your prediction here, if we conclude then, is that the US won't win this, quote-unquote, "war" in the Middle East-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes
- SBSteven Bartlett
... because they can't defeat Iran and its proxies. But also, your conclusion is that this is gonna continue to escalate in the Middle East.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. And already what we're seeing are other actors being drawn into the war. So the, so the most recent news is South Korea has authorized a naval contingent to go and try to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What would you do if you were Donald Trump?
- 47:36 – 48:46
What Would Trump Do Next?
- JXJiang Xueqin
[laughs] I mean, um, what would I do if I were Donald Trump? I would push all in. I would start attacking power plants in, uh, Iran because if I take any half measures, I would just look weak, and I'm only gonna create more problems. I would only incentivize Iran and its allies to be more provocative, to be more aggressive. So if I'm Donald Trump and I'm in this situation, I would just push all in.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But you'd end up killing millions of Iranians, theoretically.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, I start this war, right? Then I have to win this war because I can't lose this war. I refuse to lose this war. I mean, again, I, I understand the concerns. Okay? But if you wanna understand how these leaders, leaders think, this formula gives you the best window into, into, into their psychology, which is because they have so, so much power, they lose the capacity to imagine different possibilities and have empathy for the suffering of the people in the world.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Couldn't they just
- 48:46 – 49:46
Can Trump Back Out of This War?
- SBSteven Bartlett
back out? Couldn't they just, couldn't Donald Trump just say, do a big press conference where he says, "We won this war in Iran. We've destroyed their military, their naval bases. It's done, and Iran will no longer have any nuclear weapons."
- JXJiang Xueqin
The entire petrodollar system is premised on two things: the US dollar as the world reserve currency and the aura of inevitability and invincibility of the US military.
- SBSteven Bartlett
If they look like they are beatable- then the, the U.S., as its image, is sufficiently tarnished.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Right.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What are your predictions? I've been dying to know.
- JXJiang Xueqin
So I brought to you three predictions, and because we are so close to the anniversary of 9/11 in New York City, um, I, uh, structured these predictions around the anniversary, and so these will be three fun but horrifying predictions. Okay? All right. So my prediction number one is, is there will be a siege
- 49:46 – 53:23
Prediction #1: Could New York City Face a Siege?
- JXJiang Xueqin
of New York City. All right, so let me explain my logic. I was here last time, and I said that Donald Trump will get a third term, and he's been joking about it. He's been talking a lot about it. He's been social truthing about it. And so let's imagine what happens if Trump gets a third term. Well, you would have a lot of pissed off people, especially in the major cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and New York City.
- SBSteven Bartlett
We should probably just pause there because there is a, a constitutional ban on serving three terms, the primary barrier being the 22nd Amendment, which was ratified in 1951 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, um, who won four elections. It establishes a strict term limit for the presidency, and the text in this 22nd Amendment explicitly says, "No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice." So how could that happen?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, let's just say there is a national emergency, and the president is forced to suspend the Constitution, then he could theoretically have his third term. It's also possible that in 2028, he decides to run as the vice president and have his son, Don Jr., run at the top of the t- ticket, and then once the election is over, then Don Jr. would resign, and then Donald Trump would become the president, and there's nothing in the Constitution that prevents him from doing that. So there are two possibilities.
- SBSteven Bartlett
There isn't anything in the Constitution that allows the U.S. president to suspend the Constitution in a, in a time of a national emergency.
- JXJiang Xueqin
It's precedent. Um, so for example, during the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was able to suspend habeas corpus, which is a constitutional right in the U.S. Constitution. And during World War II, Franklin Delano, Delano Roosevelt also did many unconstitutional things, for example, interning the Japanese population, uh, in camps. There's nothing the Supreme Court could do against, uh, this, uh, because a lot of U.S. politics is convention. It's agreed-upon norms. But if a U.S. president is like, "Well, screw these conventions," there's nothing anyone else can do about it. All right, so let's imagine, okay, just for, for the sake of this argument, Trump gets a third term. What will happen is these cities that are Democratic will be in open revolt, meaning they will refuse to pay taxes to the federal government, but they will also not welcome ICE federal agents into their cities, which creates conflict between local law enforcement and federal law enforcement. And historically, if that were to happen, then the president, U.S. president usually thinks that he has the responsibility to quash this insurrection, right? And so this would, over time, lead to the siege of New York City, where may- maybe federal forces, along with possibly militias from other states, possibly red states that favor Trump, they would try to besiege New York City by cutting off the food supply and water supply to New York City, and this would be a conflict that could go on for years and years.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And what year would that take place?
- 53:23 – 58:11
When Could This Conflict Actually Happen?
- SBSteven Bartlett
2028?
- JXJiang Xueqin
It could happen right after, um, Trump secures his third term.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you think Trump is gonna have a third term?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Um, do you wanna bet?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- JXJiang Xueqin
I think he will get a third term.
- SBSteven Bartlett
How much do you wanna bet?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Let's take a friendly b- bet and say $100.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you know what?
- JXJiang Xueqin
100 U.S. dollars.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I've never said this before, but I actually did have a bet with two random guys on Facebook.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I don't use Facebook, but-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay
- SBSteven Bartlett
... I had a bet with two random guys on Facebook a couple of years ago. They told me that after Donald Trump had lost the election to Joe Biden, they told me that he was gonna stay in power. And so I said, "There's no way he stays in power." And they said, "No, he will." So they, and then they offered me a bet. They said 1,000 pounds each. "We bet you he's gonna stay in power." They were like QAnon people, and I said, "Fine." And they actually did pay me when he, he came out of power. They, they transferred me $1,000 each. I gave it to charity, but so I'm more than happy to make another bet if you wanna make a bet.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah, let's do it. $100, 100 U.S. dollars.
- SBSteven Bartlett
100 U.S. dollars.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And you're, you're betting that Trump gets a third term.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. I think he'll be in power after 2028. I- Is that fair? Like, like, he'll be in power after 2028.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When's the election?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, [laughs] the election should be November 4th 2028. But I, I didn't say he would win the election. I, I just said he, he would get a third term.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So you're saying that he will refuse to leave office or find another way to remain president beyond the date of the inauguration?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. I'm saying that, uh, on January 21, 2029, Trump will still be in the White House.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay. I'll take that bet.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay.
- SBSteven Bartlett
If everyone's clear.
- JXJiang Xueqin
All right.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And please do, uh, remind me to cash in, lads.
- JXJiang Xueqin
$100.
- 58:11 – 1:02:12
Prediction #2: An Attack on U.S. Financial Infrastructure
- JXJiang Xueqin
is another 9/11 attack on the United States, I believe it will be an attack on the US financial infrastructure. Okay, so let me explain my reasoning. What was 9/11? 9/11 was an act committed by terrorists in order to traumatize the population into self-destructive violence. Is that a fair statement?
- SBSteven Bartlett
I don't really know. Is that, was that the-
- JXJiang Xueqin
So let's parse the statement. 9/11 was an attempt to traumatize the American population into self-destructive violence. What I mean by that is you're taking the symbols of American power, which are like these airplanes-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm
- JXJiang Xueqin
... as well as the Twin Towers. These are symbols of American power.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And the Pentagon. Mm-hmm.
- JXJiang Xueqin
And the Pentagon and the White House, and you're destroying them. And for the longest time, American people believed that these are symbols of American invincibility, our planes, our, the Pentagon, the Twin Towers. And to see them destroyed like that would traumatize the population. In fact, it did traumatize many, many people. And the idea is you traumatize them into a self-destructive violence, which means like they want vengeance. And so what do they do? They went to the Middle East, fought against the Taliban in Afghanistan, then went to attack Iraq, then this war spread to Syria, Libya. And we can say that these 20 years of these forever wars in the Middle East have been very destructive for the United States. It's caused a huge fiscal deficit. It's caused, uh, the Amer- American military to lose a lot of prestige. It's caused a lot of corruption in Washington, D.C. It's been very bad for the United States. All right. So if you're the terrorist, and you look at 9/11, and you're like, "Okay, well, I want to do the same thing," which is like, "I want to traumatize people into self-destructive violence. How can I do so? Well, I need to traumatize them," right? Me flying planes into the new, the, the new Twin Towers doesn't do that because people are now used to, they've, they've been normalized into this sort of violence. So w- how can I induce trauma into people? Well, there are different possibilities you can use, right? So let's do a thought experiment. What would happen if one day you open your iPhone, and you're looking to buy a coffee? Well, you scan your iPhone, and it doesn't read. And you're like, "Well, there might be a problem with the bank." You call the bank. You can't get through to the bank. And like after hours and hours of frantic anxiety, you finally recognize that there was an attack on critical US financial data servers. And so all the money in your bank account has been wiped out, and they don't know when or how long it will take them to retrieve it. How would you feel?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Concerned.
- JXJiang Xueqin
I would say you would feel more than concern. I would say you would feel a lot of anger and anxiety and frustration.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That must be hard to do. Surely taking out the financial infrastructure for everybody for a long enough period of time where they start to feel real world consequences-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Would you say 9/11 was hard to do?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- JXJiang Xueqin
[laughs] I would say so as well. I can possibly imagine them doing this. So there is certain creativity to these people, and I would not rule that out. But I'm just saying if another 9/11 happens, and it's possible, what we'll see is the destruction of the U.S. financial infrastructure, which would drive millions of people into a mad frenzy. You've worked your entire life to save up $2 million. That $2 million is your retirement.
- SBSteven Bartlett
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- 1:02:12 – 1:03:17
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- 1:03:17 – 1:09:45
Why Getting Back Into the U.S. Could Become a Problem
- SBSteven Bartlett
You said to me at the top of the conversation you're having difficulty getting back into the United States recently.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What do you mean by that?
- JXJiang Xueqin
So I think there are a lot of people who do not like what I'm saying. I would say I am one of the most polarizing figures in the world right now. So, um, the story is that the Iran war happened in March and it made me famous, and I was really afraid that this fame would annoy and frustrate a lot of Americans. And so I, uh, decided that I should not actually go to the United States at this point because it's most likely that I come here and I could be held in detention by customs. I could be deported. And so that time period was, uh, extremely, um, scary for me and I, I refused all offers to come to the United States. There were quite a few people who wanted me to fly to the United States to be interviewed. So then what happens over the summer, the war sort of died down. I thought, "Okay, let me fly to Canada where my family is, and I'm in Toronto, and I'm gonna try to enter the United States by air from Toronto." So on August 5th, I went to, to the Toronto airport, Pearson. It was like 7:00 in the morning because I had an early flight to Los Angeles. I told them that I was gonna go on the Theo Von Show for... and I'll be in the United States for two weeks, uh, which was all true. So, so when, when I'm at customs, the immigration officer asked me a lot of questions, but I, I handle all these questions pretty smoothly. Then he asked me, "Do you have a travel letter for your son?" Because my son, Chris, who's eight years old, he's traveling with me. And I'm like, "What is a travel letter?" And again, this, this is like 7:00 in the morning, so my brain's not working. He's like, "Call your wife." I'm like, "Okay." So I try to call my wife. My wife is in the shower. And so then the immigration officer says, "Okay, you have, you have to go into secondary to be interrogated to make sure that your son, Chris, is traveling with you willingly." So we go to, we go to, into secondary and it's like 7:00 in the morning and my flight's at 8:30. And we're waiting for like an hour and I'm freaking out because it seems like we're, we'll miss our flight. And during this hour I'm texting my wife and she's giving me the birth certificate. She's giving me all the materials I need to prove that this son, that, that Chris is, is my son. And then, um, at the very last minute we get called and in a minute, a minute I'm able to resolve the issue. And I tell him I'm going to go on the Theo Von Show and, uh, I'll be there for two weeks. So I'm in the United States and I get contacted from other podcasts to do interviews and I travel around the United States and I, I forget about the two-week promise to the, um, immigration authorities because, uh, I'm not sure if you know the law, but I'm Canadian. I'm a, I'm a Canadian citizen and therefore I don't need a visa to come to the United States. You know, if, if you say I'm coming for two weeks, but you stay a month, it's usually not an issue. I go back to Toronto and I come back to do this podcast. And so yesterday I am put in... Yesterday, I'm ready, okay? I have my travel letter, I have my son's birth, birth certificate, and I go to the immigration officer and they still put me in, uh, secondary. But basically I think what happened was I said certain things during my podcast interviews that pissed off some really powerful people in the United States. A lot of things that I said were related to something called the Clean Break memo, which you have. The Clean Break memo was published in 1996 and it laid out a plan for how Israel can become the dominant hegemon in the Middle East. It was written by a study group, and part of the study group there were two individuals. They were Richard Perle and Douglas Feith. These two would In the George W. administration, sorry, George W. Bush administration, co-working in the Pentagon. And these two, along with Paul Wolfowitz, were the chief architects of Iraq War. So I name these people, and I explain how this war in Iran follows from the Clean Break memo, and the goal is to establish Israel as the regional hegemon, and I think this is what got me into a lot of trouble.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Why do you think that got you into a lot of trouble?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Because I'm a Canadian. When I come into the country, they usually don't bother me. And so for them to question me, I think it was because some top officials basically requested that I be put in secondary every time I come to the United States. And I, I also believe this because I have a friend, Max Blumenthal, who is a very good US journalist, and he was in Iran covering Khamenei's funeral. In response, um, a social media influencer named Laura Loomer demanded his arrest. And so when Max Blumenthal came into the country, and he is a US citizen, by the way, his devices were confiscated. And now Max Blumenthal is suing the Department of Homeland Security for illegally, uh, confiscating his devices. And so I think that we live in a time when, unfortunately, the empire is in decline, and because of hubris and arrogance, they are trying to silence their critics rather than accept our constructive criticisms.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay. So it's a theory.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Actually, wait. They never told me why I was put in secondary, but he hinted at me that every time I come to the United States, I will be put into secondary to make sure that I'm coming to the United States for legitimate reasons. Also, he hinted at me that it is possible that once my I-94 expires in six months, they will not renew it, meaning they will not let, allow me in the country anymore. I hope I come back to the United States. I, I have the deepest admiration for the American people. I think that the Americans are the most open and generous people in the world. But at the same time, I do appreciate that we are living in very interesting times.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Prediction three.
- 1:09:45 – 1:12:36
Prediction #3: Messi Becomes President of Argentina
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay. My third prediction is that Lionel Messi will become president of Argentina.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Oh, wow, I wasn't expecting that.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yep. So I wanted three new predictions that were fun and interesting for us to, uh, discuss. So why I make this prediction is that Argentina is working very closely with the United States and Israel at this moment. You are a British citizen, so you will appreciate that Argentina has recently demanded the return of the Falklands. And Donald Trump has voiced support to Argentina. So I'm asking myself, why are they so concerned about the Falklands? And not only that, but if you've been following the news, Javier Milei has become very close with Benja- Benjamin Netanyahu. Argentina and Israel have very strong relations. In fact, Argentina is welcoming Israeli investment and immigration into Argentina. And apparently, if you are an, an Israeli citizen, and you go into Argentina, a- again, you can fact-check this, but from what I understand, you have immediate access to the healthcare as well as pension, which makes absolutely no sense because you're not Argentina citizens, [chuckles] right? So it seems very much that Argentina is working very closely with Israel and the United States. And the, the reason why, why I think that Israel and A- and Argentina are working very close together is right now there's almost a civil war in Israel between Messianic Jews who believe this war in the Middle East will usher in the end times and the coming of the Messiah, and secular Jews who are like, "These people are insane." And so the only way to resolve this conflict is by exporting secular Jews elsewhere. And it seems to me, um, Argentina is a very good place to export them. So but then you're like, okay, how do you get the people of Argentina to accept this massive immigration into Ar- into Argentina from Israel? Because Israel is not very popular in Argentina. I think the best way is to make Lionel Messi the president of Argentina, and his popularity will be enough to let all these Israelis into the country, him as well as the reclaiming of the Falkland Islands, right? These two things. You know, the God of Argentina becomes president, and Argentina reclaims the Falklands from the British. And I'm, I, I, I apologize to you as, as a British citizen.
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's okay. I like Messi.
- 1:12:36 – 1:20:46
Why China and Japan Could Go to War
- SBSteven Bartlett
Um-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You, you also mentioned to me that you think Japan is gonna go to war with China, or China's gonna go to war with Japan.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What makes you think that?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, because every Chinese believes this. [chuckles] Yes. So it's the funniest thing, but, like, for the longest time, people believed that China will eventually invade Taiwan. This is what's very commonly accepted in the West. But [chuckles] if you actually go to China, no Chinese actually believes this, and no Taiwanese actually believes this because, um, this is not the way that China actually goes about its foreign policy. It does not go and invade other countries. Or in its most recent history, it has not been that aggressive. The last war that China fought was in Vietnam, and this was h- was in the mid, early '80s, okay? So it's, it's a long time. But if you go to China today- Everyone believes that China and Japan will go to war. And to appreciate this, you have to understand the geography of Southeast Asia.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Should I throw something up on the screen?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah. Okay, so what I wanna do is use geography to explain why conflict between China and Japan is inevitable at this point. Okay, so you have Japan, okay, and then you have China. Okay, so the first thing to appreciate is that these are two very different countries. China is a land power that is self-sufficient. Japan is a sea power that is dependent on resources from abroad. So historically, China was primarily an agricultural nation. Japan, in order to survive, engaged in piracy, so the Japanese have always been pretty mili- militaristic. They have a very, they had a samurai culture for the longest time. They were always at war with each other. Um, and the Japanese people are extremely resilient and cohesive because the geography of Japan is very unstable. There's lots of earthquakes. There's a lot of tsu- tsunamis, so they have to work together as a people in order to survive. This is important because this war in Iran is affecting both China and Japan. China will probably have to de-industrialize, but if Japan doesn't do anything, then it's possible in the next 50 years Japan cease to exist because not only is Japan dependent on energy and imports and resources from overseas, but it has an aging population. It has the most elderly population in the world. So in a time of war, when the United States is no longer able to give you protection, Japan needs to create resource colonies, and historically, Southeast Asia, right here, has been the main resource colony of Japan. If it doesn't have Southeast Asia, the United States now becomes the main benefactor of Japan, and Japan doesn't wanna be in that position because that's what happened in World War II when, uh, Japan got most of its energy from the United States, and when the United States embargoed Japan, Japan was, was forced to declare war on the United States. Okay, so the United States can provide Japan with all its energy needs, but that would make Japan completely subservient. So Japan wants to basically access the resources of Southeast Asia. There's a problem, though, and that problem is called Taiwan. Taiwan is right in the middle of the South China Sea, and if China and Taiwan were to reunify, what China could do now is embargo Japan. I'm not saying China will do so, but I'm saying that China has the option of doing so, and that's, and Japan sees that as a threat to its, its existence. In fact, um, a few months ago-
- SBSteven Bartlett
When you say embargo, what does embargo mean?
- JXJiang Xueqin
It, embargo means you blockade, okay?
- SBSteven Bartlett
But if they did this, wouldn't, uh, the whole, all hell would break loose. You know, Japan are gonna attack China, Taiwan. It's gonna get messy. It's gonna impact trade.
- JXJiang Xueqin
So I'm not saying that China would embargo Japan, but I'm saying it has the option of doing so.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But you are saying that China is gonna attack Japan.
- JXJiang Xueqin
No, no, no, no, I'm saying there's a conflict between, between these two nations.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay. I thought you said it was inevitable.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. So, so let me explain how, how this would draw out, how, how this would play out, okay? So Japan sees Taiwan, the Taiwan issue, as vital to its national security interest, and that's what, exactly what Prime Minister Takeachi said a few months ago, and when she made that statement, China overreacted. So before, you had millions of tourists from China visiting Japan a year. Now, most of them are not allowed to go to Japan. And it's very likely that China and Japan will have a conflict over Taiwan. Now, the thing to remember is it does not benefit any nation here to go to war because as you point out, all chaos would break out. What you need to do is create leverage to negotiate better terms. Okay? So what Japan is doing is saying, "Okay, look, we can't take on T- China directly because China is too powerful. But what, what we can do is build alliances to possibly challenge, and if we have to, embargo China." All right? So what Japan is doing is building alliance with the Philippines and Australia and India, and together these four nations, even without the United States, they could, in theory, choose to embargo China. Right? What Japan needs is access to Southeast Asia because that would be the main source of its resources going into the future. So that is the scenario being played out. Now, China does not want to come into a conflict with Japan. Why? Because China is seen as the big bad dragon in this area, and if China is seen as too provocative, that would basically incentivize all of Southeast Asia to gang up on China. So you can see alliance between India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, South Korea, North Korea, Japan versus China. Okay? So the way to resolve this issue is use a proxy in order to threaten Japan in order to, uh, develop more leverage. Over Japan in negotiations
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm
- JXJiang Xueqin
Right? And that proxy, of course, is North Korea. So North Korea has the potential to shell South Korea because most of the population of South Korea lives within 20 minutes of North Korea. And so in theory, North Korea could flatten Seoul in just a day. Okay? Most of North Korean artillery is actually by the border. What North Korea could also do is lob missiles into the Sea of Japan and rattle the Japanese. Okay? So this is the dynamic being played out, where Japan, through its proxies, primarily the Philippines, is challenging Chinese naval dominance in the South China Sea, and China will use North Korea as a proxy to threaten South Korea and Japan. Over time, as the United States retreats from, uh, the Asia Pacific, this conflict between China and Japan will get worse and worse. And the maj- main reason why is it is in the strate- strategic best interest of the United States to foment as much tension between China and Japan as possible.
- 1:20:46 – 1:21:31
How Far Would the U.S. Go to Defend Taiwan?
- SBSteven Bartlett
But it could compromise Taiwan, no?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Who cares?
- SBSteven Bartlett
The U.S. care about Taiwan.
- JXJiang Xueqin
No, it doesn't.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I thought that's where-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Says who?
- SBSteven Bartlett
... we get all of our semiconductors from.
- JXJiang Xueqin
But what does Trump wanna do? He wants Ta- Taiwanese to move their semiconductor industry to the United States, and that's already happening, where TSMC, the main semiconductor, uh, company in Taiwan, it's opened a, I believe it's $20- $20 billion new factory in Arizona. So if there's a conflict between China and Japan, the, the tension becomes worse and worse, the Taiwanese semiconductor industry, it would be forced to relocate to United States, which would be in the best interest of the Americans.
- 1:21:31 – 1:25:21
Could Russia Invade the Baltics?
- SBSteven Bartlett
You also think that, um, Russia are gonna invade the Baltics.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah. Okay, so now w- we'll shift focus and go into Europe. All right? Okay, but, but is this pretty clear?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yes, it is clear.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay. Right now, you have NATO or Europe supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. Okay? And most of this war is actually h- happening in Eastern Ukraine, and Russia seems to be winning a lot of territory in Eastern Ukraine.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But e- everybody's saying that Ukraine are fighting back really, really well.
- JXJiang Xueqin
The reason why is what Ukraine has chosen to do in these past few months, which has, which has changed the contours of the war, is Ukraine is using drones to attack Russia's energy infrastructure.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And just hitting Russia in general is making the people of Russia change their perception.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Exactly, right? So before this conflict was contained to Eastern Ukraine, it didn't affect the people of Russia. In fact, it really was helping the economy of Russia because Russia could still export its oil around the world. Now Ukraine, what Ukraine is doing is using drones to attack the oil refineries of Russia, which is causing economic pain on the Russian people, and this is making, uh, Putin increasingly unpopular. Okay? So the contour of the war has changed. So if you're Russia and you're s- looking at this, you think your enemy is not Ukraine. Your, you think your enemy is NATO Europe. Why? Because Ukraine, the drones are being manufactured in Germany and the UK and other places as well. So in theory, Ukraine could fight this war to infinity because its manufacturing hub is in Europe. Europe is, i- is also providing Ukraine with infinite financing as well as intelligence. Okay? So if you're Russia, you're like, "Wait a minute here. Over time, we can't possibly win this war of attrition because we're fighting Europe, and Europe's manufacturing capacity is well protected behind the NATO alliance. Okay? So what I need to do is provoke NATO and Europe into coming into Ukraine," basically force them out of their-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Shell
- JXJiang Xueqin
... shell, right? And so what's been happening is Germany and Russia have been in conflict these past few months. Uh, in early August, there was a drone attack on Leipzig Airport, okay? Leipzig Airport. And the Germans blame the Russians, and in response, the Germans closed down the Rus- Russian consulate in Bonn, as well as remove certain Russians from, uh, Germany. Russia is retaliating by closing the German consulate in St. Petersburg, and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lav- Lavrov have s- have s- have said, "We are in a similar situation to 1941." What happened in 1941? The Germans invaded Russia. Okay? So in other words, Russia recognizes that if they just leave Europe alone and just fight this war in Ukraine, they will lose in the end, so they must force and provoke Europe into mass mobilization to defend Ukraine. And one way to do that is by hitting critical manufacturing infrastructure within
- 1:25:21 – 1:26:48
Can Russia Make a Deal Instead of Going to War?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Europe.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you think Russia, Russia's next move is to attack within NATO, Germany, the UK, et cetera?
- JXJiang Xueqin
It has no choice. It ha- it has to do this.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Ca- can't they just do a deal with Trump? Like, you know, they're trying to do a deal at the moment, aren't they? Jared Kushner's apparently trying to get a deal done between Ukraine and Russia and...
- JXJiang Xueqin
So If the United States, do you want peace between Europe and Russia, or do you want war between Europe and Russia? Well, from a game theory perspective, you're better off with war. Why? Because if there's war, Russia can't sell its energy overseas. United States has monopoly over energy now, right?
- SBSteven Bartlett
This causes global s- instability, though. If there's a war here, then it's gonna impact the US in a big way.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, then why the United States invade Iraq, right? I mean-
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause they, they thought it would be an overnight Venezuela situation where you decapitate the leadership, everyone rises up, you have a favorable leader in the country that you, is subservient to you.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Great. Exactly. And this is exactly how the empire thinks, right? We already used this formula, right?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah, yeah.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Now, w- w- w- if we apply this formula to Europe situation, then the thinking is, well, Putin is a paper tiger. He is very unpopular at home. If we just force this war for another two months, if we continue to attack the energy infrastructure of Russia, then eventually people will, uh, rise up and overthrow Putin, right? The same logic.
- 1:26:48 – 1:29:02
Does Trump Actually Want Ukraine to Win?
- SBSteven Bartlett
So therefore, Trump wants the Ukraine to win, or he wants Ukraine to keep doing what they're doing?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, Trump personally doesn't care, right? Because the more war there is, the more the Europeans are forced to rely on American energy.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay.
- JXJiang Xueqin
So if you're Putin, what you need to do is force the Europeans into war in Ukraine. Why? Because there's, there's only really only one path to victory in this scenario. The path to victory is to cause instability and violence in Europe. Okay? The idea is, if you force Europe to mass mobilize, the people would rather overrule the government than agree to take up arms against Russia. That's the theory, okay? But Russia has exactly one path to victory, and that is to cause as much instability and violence as possible within Europe, and the best way to do that is by forcing the Europeans to mass mobilize their population. Okay? But for that to happen, what Russia needs to do first is declare total war. What total war means is the mass mobilization of your society. So what's important for us to appreciate is, so far Russia has not declared war on Ukraine. It is a special military operation, which means that Russia is relying on volunteers to fight this war. In a time of total war, Russia could mobilize its adult population, and we estimate there are at least 3 million reservists in Russia ready to be called up to arms. Mass mob- mobilization in Russia would force mass mobilization in Europe, and this is how the war is most likely, uh, will most likely turn out.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I mean, I guess the other thing that's g- I mean, listen, Pr- Professor, there's a, sounds like there's a lot of conflict on the way.
- JXJiang Xueqin
There's an acceleration underway.
- 1:29:02 – 1:35:31
What Could Stop These Global Conflicts From Spreading?
- SBSteven Bartlett
What would have to be true for us to sit here in 2036 and for there not to have been a conflict between China and Japan, for the, uh, Iran situation to have cooled off, the Ukraine war is either, you know, where it is now or it's, uh, regressed?
- JXJiang Xueqin
The Clean Break memo. This changed history.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So what, what are you saying spec- specifically? What would have to be the case for n- none of these sort of catastrophic things to take place?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Okay. In the year 1995, okay, this was published in 1996. Netanyahu came to power in Israel in 1996. In 1995, we lived in a world of neoliberalism, something called the Washington Consensus, and the idea is we have developed a new model of history. If people just traded with each other and consumers just bought goods, we would have peace forever. Okay? This is what we call neoliberalism, the Washington Consensus, and Bill Clinton was the main proponent of this idea. And in order to achieve this vision for global peace, what he did was promote the Oslo Peace Process, which sought to create a two-state solution and bring peace in the Middle East, right? The two-state solution is the Palestinians and Israelis agree to live side by side. And at that time, the main thinking was that once peace happened in the Middle East, once this two-state solution was created, then they would start to trade with each other. Israel and Palestine will be brought into the GCC, and they would be part of the global supply chain. And once prosperity comes to Israel and Palestine, they would have no need to ever hate each other again. This is called the Oslo Peace Process, okay? And again, at that time, this was just how policymakers in Washington understood the world, right? It worked in China, it worked in Japan, it worked in Germany. The Japan and Germany were these really militant nation states, but then we allowed them to trade, we allowed their consumers to have air conditioning, SUVs, and now they're just really peaceful people. So why can't we do the same thing in Israel and Palestine?
- SBSteven Bartlett
So what is the Clean Break theory? What, what... In a sentence.
- JXJiang Xueqin
The Clean Break theory is this: Netanyahu came into power and basically his argument is, "We can never, ever trust the Arabs not to hate us. We are Israelis. We have been promised this land by God." And the Arabs see us as enemies, and whatever we do, they will always hate us. So screw peace, screw compromise, let us become the regional hegemon because that is our manifest destiny. That is what God told us to do, that is what is written in the Bible, and th- that's what we were born to do. Okay? And this is something called the Clean Break memo. And the Clean Break memo had three major pillars that have b- that have all been achieved today. Okay? The first pillar is stop the Oslo peace process, do not give more land to the Palestinians because the Pa- Palestinians are animals, and the way to treat animals is by beating the crap out of them. Okay? Do not treat them nicely. They will, um, they will hate you.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So y- wait, are you saying that the way to stop all of the pessimism that we talked about happening is by the Clean Break theory succeeding?
- JXJiang Xueqin
No, no, no, no. What I said was, 1995, there was already a theory in place called neoliberalism that offered a solution to the Israel-Palestine issue that had been plaguing the Middle East for the past few decades, and if they had followed that through, then we would live in a very different time.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay, so t- to my question, my question is, and what would have to be the case for this, all the things you've described, the, the, the wars and the conflict not to happen?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Right. What would have happened is the United States had pressure Israel into seeking peace with the Arab nations.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay, so y- the US need to get Israel to be friends with the Arab nations?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes, you force it because Israel is simply dependent on you for technology, for financing, for arms. Israel is the biggest recipient of American foreign policy, uh, aid.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So just for those that wanna know what the Clean B- Break theory is, it was, it's called A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm. It refers to a prominent 1996 policy documented, um, and then prepared for Benjamin Netanyahu by a study group led by American neoconservative str- strategists. Um, did he read this m- memo?
- JXJiang Xueqin
He commissioned it.
- SBSteven Bartlett
He commissioned it, okay. And the key objectives of the Clean Break are, as you said, the first one, abandoning land for peace, which advocated for moving away from the Oslo Accords framework, shifting to a posture of peace through strength and peace for peace without giving up any territory. Number two, regional dominance. It recommended transcending the Israel-Palestine conflict by focusing on weakening regional adversaries, specifically advocating for the containment or removal of hostile regimes in Iraq and Syria, and dismantling the Iraq-Syria-Hezbollah axis. And lastly, preemptive action. It urged Israel to abandon defensive containment policies in favor of proactive offensive strategies.
- JXJiang Xueqin
And that's exactly what Israel is doing today. Th- this is what Israel has done for the past 30 years. It has promoted regime change in Syria, in Iraq.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And so the conclusion here is to stop this sort of conflict escalating, they have to reverse course with this strategy.
- JXJiang Xueqin
The US needs to contain Israel, yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay.
- JXJiang Xueqin
But what I'm arguing is it's too late [laughs] 'cause you, you've already unleashed these structural forces that will collapse the global trade system, in which case it's every nation for itself. I mean, you, you've already created the conditions for Japan and China to go to war. You've already created, created, created conditions for Germany and Russia to go to war. It's no longer, you can't put the genie back, back in the bottle again.
- 1:35:31 – 1:40:52
How the Average Person Can Prepare for What’s Coming
- SBSteven Bartlett
What does this, you know, a lot of, mo- most of us aren't involved in politics, so, um, we just kind of watch this stuff and we have to sort of figure out what to do with our, our families and our lives in spite of this sort of craziness that we see in the news and the global conflicts and all that stuff. What is the advice that you have for the average person?
- JXJiang Xueqin
The best advice I can give to the average person is believe in God. So I am a product of the meritocracy. I received the best education in the world, and I feel the best education in the world makes you think the world is materialistic, God doesn't exist. And as a result, in my 20s and 30s and 40s, I was a deeply angry, depressed, frustrated person because if God doesn't exist, there's no order and structure to what's going on, and it's just complete chaos, and there can be no hope or light in chaos. And because I married a wonderful woman, who I think is really an angel, because I have, like, three beautiful children, I do believe there's a plan and a structure and order and reason to the world, and I've come in the past two years, and o- it's only been recent, okay? It's only been the past two years when I have a true belief in God.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So it's all gonna be okay?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Great.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yes. But you need to believe in God, and you need to focus on your family. Then it will be all right.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So don't focus on protesting in the streets or elections or any of those things or?
- JXJiang Xueqin
If you believe in God and you focus on your family, sometimes you're compelled to take action. Because I believe in God, I live a life following one simple principle, which is speak the truth. Why am I on your show? Why did I spend the past month Um, going on so many different podcasts because it's important people know the truth. If you really believe in God, if you really focus on, on your family, you have a personal and moral responsibility to speak the truth. If you know what's gonna happen, then speak it. Why are you doing this? What good will it do? It doesn't matter. It's just like y- your faith in God compels you to live the truth, to, and to speak the truth, and to spread the, the truth. So just because you believe in God doesn't mean, "Okay, now I believe in God, and now I can just sit back and hide in my room and play computer games all day." It doesn't mean that. It means if you truly believe in God and you believe there's a plan, then you have to take action, and you have to participate in the world, because why else would God create you?
- SBSteven Bartlett
So why is God letting all of this stuff happen? When I look around the world, I see lots of wars and conflict, Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East, lots of other things breaking out at the moment. Why would God let this happen?
- JXJiang Xueqin
What is the path to wisdom?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Struggle, pain, failure.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Can we just have the wisdom without the-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Or, or could you? [laughs]
- SBSteven Bartlett
So we've got a lesson to learn.
- JXJiang Xueqin
We have many lessons to learn. But if you are truly a spiritual person, you're thankful for this time because this struggle, this suffering will allow us to transcend ourselves. We're... Are, are we here to make a lot of money and drive fast cars? Are we here to learn what it means to be truly human, to learn what love is, to develop a deeper connection with God? I mean, I think we're here first and foremost to be truly human, and that means living a life of love, empathy, and imagination. And so we go back to that formula where if you have too much wealth, you have too much fame, you have too much power, it's impossible for you to truly have imagination, empathy, and love. So how do you correct this? Well, you create a world of crises because in a world of crises, everyone, you and me, we're forced to look deep down and ask ourselves, "What is truly important to me? What gives me happiness? What is meaning and purpose in my life?" And I think the answer is it's my love for the people around me, and that's the answer that we'll all come to. And once we come to this, um, answer, then I think that is the great spiritual awakening that could possibly redeem all of humanity.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Professor, what's the most, um, pertinent thing that's front of mind for you at the moment that we haven't talked about?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, I mean, we did talk about the coming conflict with, between China and Japan, and I worry a lot about that.
- 1:40:52 – 1:42:35
How AI Changes the Global Power Struggle
- SBSteven Bartlett
What about AI? We didn't talk about that, and that's kind of overlaid on all of the stories we've talked about because it's to do with robotics, it's energy, it's, uh, semiconductors, chips, it's U.S., China.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah. So that's a great question. Um, and so if we go back and talk about global supply chains, this formula is very important to understand. Technology equals specialization times globalization. So in a time when global supply chains are breaking down, in a time of war, AI cannot make that leap into AGI. So what will happen is AI will be repurposed as a control grid. Rather than AI developing the intelligence necessary to reduce scarcity, to solve the most pressing medical problems of humanity, uh, to solve climate change, AI will be re- repurposed to monitor and surveil all of us.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I think that's gonna happen irrespective of, you know... I think governments are gonna be increasingly interested in and capable of monitoring all of us all the time. 'Cause we have cameras, we're here in New York City at the moment, there's cameras everywhere. They're just a little bit dumb. They don't really talk to each other.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yep. And-
- SBSteven Bartlett
But with, with AI, they can all talk to each other-
- JXJiang Xueqin
That's right
- SBSteven Bartlett
... and say, "Professor's walking down the street, and he's off his way to this hotel, and now he's in a hotel, and the-"
- JXJiang Xueqin
I agree that is the most likely trend, but what I'm saying is all these crises will accelerate this trend because let's just say you have a siege of New York City. Well, Palantir will use this opportunity to develop, um, autonomous drone warfare that is controlled by AI.
- 1:42:35 – 1:46:22
Why AI Surveillance Could Be the Bigger Threat
- SBSteven Bartlett
So is that your big concern with AI, is surveillance?
- JXJiang Xueqin
That's not the big risk I see. The big risk I see is how AI can cheapen the human experience, how AI is almost dehumanizing because what people like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and Stan Altman are saying is computers are so much smarter than us. And it could be true that AI will eventually be able to do mathematics, do medical diagnostics much more efficiently than we are, but ultimately, we as humans, we're here to love, imagine, and have, and be kind to other people, and that is what the human experience is. And if we focus too much on AI, that diverts and distracts us from our true mission, which is one of spiritual growth.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Our true mission is spiritual growth. What are you, um, what gives you hope?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Well, the only thing that gives me hope i- um, um, are, are my children, right? You met Chris, but I'm here because of Chris. Honestly, if I didn't have children First of all, I don't think I would be this successful because I wouldn't have much purpose and meaning in my life. But honestly, at the same time, I think that while children and I were suddenly this famous, I would become very corrupted very fast. I would just focus on the fame. I would try to make as much money as possible because while children, the only purpose in life is competition against others, right? To prove that I am materially more successful than other people. And so I would just try to, to, uh, make as much money as possible for myself in my 15 minutes of fame. But now that I have children, I'm more, much more concerned about building a legacy for them and setting a good example.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Are you worried about Chris's future?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I'm not.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You're not?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I'm not at all worried about his future.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Why?
- JXJiang Xueqin
Because my wife and I have loved him to the best of our ability, and the fact that we love him gives him the confidence to live his life to the fullest. We see every day Chris as a gift from God.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But if the world is collapsing, in your words, and Chris is in that world-
- JXJiang Xueqin
Yeah
- SBSteven Bartlett
... are you not concerned?
- JXJiang Xueqin
I'm not at all concerned. Because we are here in order to have a spiritual awakening, and all the crises, they will induce deep reflection in order for us to fulfill our purpose. I don't know why Chris is here. When Chris was two years old, he literally told us, "Mom, Dad, I'm from a dif- I'm, I'm from another world," and he named that world, "and I'm just an alien visiting you guys." And my wife and I, we weren't surprised. We're like, "We knew this. Yeah. We knew you were an alien. We, we knew you came from, from another world, and we knew that you came here to experience humanity for all our faults and all for, and for all our problems. And we see you, we love you, but we will do whatever we can to empower you on your mission. And we're gonna try our best because ultimately it's your life, it's your mission, and we cannot ever control you." Love is about trust. Love is about liberation, liberation from your own anxieties, and liberation from the need to control others.
- 1:46:22 – 1:48:01
The Biggest Personal Challenge—and How to Overcome It
- SBSteven Bartlett
Professor, we have a closing tradition where the last guest leaves a question for the next, not knowing who they're leaving it for. The question left for you is, what is your biggest challenge, and how are you working on fixing it?
- JXJiang Xueqin
My biggest challenge is my fear, my doubt, my paralysis. I went to, um, US border yesterday, and now I'm afraid that I will never be allowed back in the United States after I, I leave. I'm afraid that I might get banned from a lot of countries because all I do is talk trash about different countries. I've talked trash about China. I've talked trash about Canada. I've talked trash about the United States. If I get banned from all three countries, I'd be in a lot of trouble. And so my constant challenge is to maintain my faith in God, maintain my faith in my family, maintain, uh, my faith in, in my purpose.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I hope you do, and you have a wonderful son. He's so, he's so, um, curious is the vibe that I got from him.
- JXJiang Xueqin
He's a gift from God.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Very, very curious. I just met him in the green room then, and he was like, uh, he's playing with some Play-Doh and lots of toys and stuff like that, and I'm not surprised that he is your son from the 15 seconds I spent with him [laughs] 'cause he's very, very curious and clearly gonna be a very smart young man, so congratulations.
- JXJiang Xueqin
Thank you.
- SBSteven Bartlett
YouTube have this new crazy algorithm where they know exactly what video you would like to watch next based on AI and all of your viewing behavior, and the algorithm says that this video is the perfect video for you. It's different for everybody looking right now. Check this video out, and I bet you you might love it
Episode duration: 1:48:02
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Transcript of episode C5o3tgr-AgI
