Posted originally on Feb 13, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

I do not advise governments to use sanctions for leverage due to the economic implications that may take time to materialize. In April 2020, I wrote, “Once you impose sanctions, you create a cold war. Look at Russia. Nixon opened China to divide and conquer. Are we really that stupid to close China and encourage them to join Russia in a cold war that will further destroy the world economy and most likely lead to real war?” The US and EU attempted to remove Russia from the global economy through sanctions and prohibiting them from the SWIFT network. Putin further explained in his interview with Tucker Carlson why this was a “grave mistake” for the future of the USD.

Using the dollar for political struggles dealt a blow to the USD that has not yet been felt. First, freezing the assets of Russians sent a signal to the whole world that the USD may not be the safest place to park your money if you happen to be in an “unfriendly” nation. Even our own allies have begun downsizing their dollar reserves.

The SWIFT system was never meant to be used as a political instrument. The West began looking into ways to remove Russia from this payment system back in 2014, and when they finally did, Russia began processing its payments elsewhere. Putin also correctly stated in the interview that China, not Russia, is the larger threat to the West in terms of size, population, manufacturing, and, most importantly, the growing power of the yuan.

The BRICS alliance is stronger than ever before as nations are collaborating without the need for the dollar. This does NOT mean that they are planning to replace the dollar, a myth that Putin termed the “BRICS boogeyman” as the Western media portrays the organization as a major threat to global security. However, this does mean that the yuan will grow in strength, as we have seen with the slow death of the petrodollar. The BRICS partnership means that members are no longer dependent on Western energy, and eventually, no one will be dependent on Western trade or debt. Only a fool would buy their enemy’s debt and expect to receive anything in return. Again, this will happen on target cyclically as nothing remains forever. The dollar overpowered sterling, and the yuan is next in line.

There are boogeyman fables that cooperation with China will lead to the destruction of the West, yet that is happening as a result of our leaders abandoning all domestic policies for globalization. Every nation in the EU and North America has made decisions that directly hurt its own economy but are beneficial to the coming globalization that they wish to bring forth, as stated every year at Davos.

“You can’t choose your neighbors like you can’t choose relatives,” Putin stated in regards to China, “We have a centuries-long history of coexistence.” He correctly stated that China always looks for compromise. They are an independent nation that has not fallen to the globalist agenda and there are not neocons within the ranks looking to bring China into perpetual warfare. The media is afraid of the “no limits” alliance between Russia and China, but look at how China has remained relatively neutral since the war in Ukraine began when they could have easily aided their neighbor. Furthermore, Europe is now closer economically to China than Russia is, as Europe is desperate for solutions to its economic issues and sees China as an opportunity.

Putin stated numerous times that US analysts are the ones discussing these problems, and he is simply repeating what he has read. I have not personally advised Putin, but I do believe his people read our work as he was attempting to explain cycles. “It is like the rise of the sun. You cannot prevent the sun from rising. You must adapt to it,” he said as one analogy. Cycles, indeed, are the operating system behind absolutely everything. Civilization does not change; war and periods of economic decline are inevitable. We can merely observe and learn from the trends to adapt accordingly.