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Seventeen years on the streets, living and working with the people of China, Jeff
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My introduction
A fan contacted me by email saying that on Facebook, the counteractions by China against the United States, discussed below, are unsubstantiated. That is very possible. In this day of AI and deep fakes, who knows for sure?
However, I have reread the article and everything that China has reportedly done to the United States is very possible, or they have already started doing so.
For example, China’s anti-SWIFT money transfer system was already set up last year, with about 20 African countries, saving them billions of dollars in financial fees. Signing up new countries would be easy-peasy.
China is already carefully managing its rare earth exports.
Commodity contracts for oil, gas, soybeans, etc. have opt-out clauses. China could do so, quickly switching suppliers.
Xi Jinping and Nicolas Maduro seem to genuinely like and respect each other. Both are socialists, both are revolutionaries. Venezuela is a member of the BRI. China is working hard to get Venezuela into BRICS. China has billions in investments in Venezuela. China has historically bought much of Venezuela’s hydrocarbon exports. Thus, Baba Beijing has a very strong motive to come to Venezuela’s aid.
It is possible that Kurt Grötsch, the, author of this article, originally in German, is an avatar. However, he does list his name, who he is and with whom he works. I even found him referenced online (https://independent.academia.edu/KurtGr%C3%B6tsch ). Therefore, I think that he is legitimate. Not to mention this article was published on RT.com, a very credible and professional news outlet.
Mr. Grötsch works with Chinese organizations and could easily get useful information. Thus, I think this article, at least mostly, if not completely valid, is likely true.
Interesting that it was originally published in German on RT.com and not English. The translation is below…
There is an Spanish language article referenced towards the end. It emblematic of the growing interconnectedness among the Global Majority, which is good to see.
Maduro’s Kidnapping: China’s Silent, Hard Response to Washington
January 21, 2026, 7:00 AM
China is responding to the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro not with words, but with force: Financial, energy, and supply chains are being recalibrated within hours. The blow is hitting the US economically—and marks a turning point on the path to a multipolar world order.
China has forged an immediate anti-US coalition by wielding the weapon of economic incentives.
The culmination came on January 5, when Beijing activated its financial weapon: China’s cross-border interbank payment system announced it would expand its operational capacity to accommodate any global transaction seeking to bypass the Washington-controlled SWIFT system. This means China has provided the world with a fully functional alternative to the Western financial system.
Any country, company, or bank wishing to conduct business without relying on US financial infrastructure can use the Chinese system, which is 97 percent cheaper and faster. The response was immediate and massive: In the first 48 hours after its launch, transactions worth $89 billion were processed. Central banks from 34 countries opened operational accounts in the Chinese system, signifying an accelerated de-dollarization of one of the US’s most important sources of funding.
On the technological front, China, which controls 60 percent of the world’s production of rare earth elements, essential for manufacturing semiconductors and electronic components, announced temporary export restrictions on rare earth elements to all countries that supported the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro. Apple, Microsoft, Google, Intel—all the US tech giants that rely on Chinese supply chains for critical components—fear that their production systems could collapse within weeks.
Every move China makes strikes at the economic heart of the US empire.
“What is China doing for Venezuela?” ask friends and foes of the government alike. The above is an explanation of how China is taking action without declaring war.
On the technological front, China is taking action without declaring war. … Translated from the Spanish by Olga Espín
Kurt Grötsch is a German scholar and researcher, professor and lecturer at European and international universities, founder of several cultural institutions, co-founder and vice president of Cátedra China, and ambassador of Minzu University of China.
More on this topic – Why Trump’s oil visions could fail in Venezuela’s abyss
References
Further reading about Chinese Civilization
Series by boots-on-the-ground China Writer travelers reporting on real China and real Chinese people!
Stay caught up with Amir&Jeff’s Amazing Adventure, journeying through the wilds of inner China, where foreigners don’t go! Short videos, captioned photos, articles, critical commentary.
State of the Chinese Union 2025: based on five months recently journeying across the country’s backwoods + 17 years living there. Speech given to Samui Real, Thailand, 13 August 2025
ADVENTURES IN ASIA WITH LADYB, FASHU, LAOLAO AND GONGGONG Series (focused on Taiwan Province and the rest of Asia)
Jeff’s many articles about Taiwan Province
Evelyne&Jeff’s Excellent China Adventure Series. Months spent traveling the back roads of China. Short videos with transcripts, captioned photos, articles and critical commentary. The REAL Chinese people you do not know!
Frans Vandenbosch: Final reflections on an extraordinary voyage
https://yellowlion.org/asia-trip-2025-part-11/
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JEFF J. BROWN, Editor, China Rising, and Senior Editor & China Correspondent, Dispatch from Beijing, The Greanville Post
Jeff J. Brown is a geopolitical analyst, journalist, lecturer and the author of The China Trilogy. It consists of 44 Days Backpacking in China – The Middle Kingdom in the 21st Century, with the United States, Europe and the Fate of the World in Its Looking Glass (2013); Punto Press released China Rising – Capitalist Roads, Socialist Destinations (2016); and BIG Red Book on China (2020). As well, he published a textbook, Doctor WriteRead’s Treasure Trove to Great English (2015). Jeff is a Senior Editor & China Correspondent for The Greanville Post, where he keeps a column, Dispatch from Beijing and is a Global Opinion Leader at 21st Century. He also writes a column for The Saker, called the Moscow-Beijing Express. Jeff writes, interviews and podcasts on his own program, China Rising Radio Sinoland, which is also available on YouTube, Stitcher Radio, iTunes, Ivoox and RUvid. Guests have included Ramsey Clark, James Bradley, Moti Nissani, Godfree Roberts, Hiroyuki Hamada, The Saker and many others. [/su_spoiler]
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