Beijing is quickly recognizing they have painted themselves into an economic corner. Beijing enables the DPRK. President Trump specifically targets this reality as the solution to North Korea’s aggression: ¹Beijing tells DPRK to do stupid thing. ²DPRK does stupid thing. ³Trump hits Xi Jinping with economic punishment for stupid thing.
In an effort to keep the panda mask as the primary focus of the international (investment) community; and facing another set of financial sanctions by President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin; and after President Trump explains to Xi Jinping that unrelenting economic pressure will only get worse; Beijing tells Chinese banks to cut off financial relationships with North Korea.
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s central bank has told banks to strictly implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, four sources told Reuters, amid U.S. concerns that Beijing has not been tough enough over Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear tests.
Tensions between the United States and North Korea have ratcheted up after the sixth and most powerful nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on Sept. 3 prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose further sanctions last week.
Chinese banks have come under scrutiny for their role as a conduit for funds flowing to and from China’s increasingly isolated neighbor.
(more…)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is a key and central figure in the successful execution of the MAGA Trump Doctrine. Secretary T-Rex appears on Fox News to review the content of President Trump’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
[TRANSCRIPT] QUESTION: Live at the White House for a special report tonight. The focus of the Trump administration this week: international relations. The President addressing the United Nations General Assembly, as we’ve been talking about this morning, making a case for his “America first” policy and against what he called the evil regimes of North Korea and Iran, also mentioning Venezuela.
Let’s talk now with the country’s top diplomat. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson joins us from New York. Mr. Secretary, thanks for being here.
SECRETARY TILLERSON: My pleasure, Bret.
(more…)
Yesterday President Trump called Xi Jinping; CTH noted the pattern. The reason – today President Trump would be messaging toward Beijing. [There is a difference between talking to Xi Jinping, and talking to Beijing.] Well, did anyone notice President Trump referencing the post WWII “Marshall Plan” today during his U.N. Speech?
And….

Sept. 19 (UPI) — China’s foreign ministry is urging other countries to return to the “spirit” of the six-party talks and seeking more diplomatic cooperation on North Korea.
Beijing’s diplomatic spokesman Lu Kang said Tuesday that China places value on the Sept. 19 joint statement of the six-party talks, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. (link)
[…] The United States of America has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world, and the greatest defenders of sovereignty, security, and prosperity for all.
Now we are calling for a great reawakening of nations, for the revival of their spirits, their pride, their people, and their patriotism. ~ U.S. President Donald J Trump

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, world leaders, and distinguished delegates: Welcome to New York. It is a profound honor to stand here in my home city, as a representative of the American people, to address the people of the world.
As millions of our citizens continue to suffer the effects of the devastating hurricanes that have struck our country, I want to begin by expressing my appreciation to every leader in this room who has offered assistance and aid. The American people are strong and resilient, and they will emerge from these hardships more determined than ever before.
Fortunately, the United States has done very well since Election Day last November 8th. The stock market is at an all-time high — a record. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 16 years, and because of our regulatory and other reforms, we have more people working in the United States today than ever before. Companies are moving back, creating job growth the likes of which our country has not seen in a very long time. And it has just been announced that we will be spending almost $700 billion on our military and defense.
(more…)
Good interview with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and CBS John Dickerson. Worth noting the nuance in Tillerson’s statements about messaging toward China, specifically Beijing. Those who have followed CTH analysis of the administrations China/DPRK strategy will note how Tillerson discusses the enmeshed relationship and the strategy of using economics as leverage toward China.
Tillerson also discusses the upcoming President Trump U.N. speech and the geopolitical alliances the administration has assembled to confront freedom’s adversaries.
QUESTION: Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. I’m John Dickerson. We’ll get to the story that dominated news coverage most of last week, that of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, but there’s a lot of other news coming up this morning and so we’re going to begin by talking to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Mr. Secretary, welcome. Let me start with the Paris climate accord. The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration was looking for a way to stay in it, but in June President Trump said it was time to exit. So what is the administration position?
(more…)
CNN interview with Dana Bash, John King’s ex wife, and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley discussing DPRK, London Bombing, DACA and additional administration policies.
Two quick points: #1] Overall Haley does well. However, those who watch closely will note Haley continues to keep one solid foot in UniParty/GOPe position. She’s straddling the MAGA fence. Obviously evaluating her career against the party apparatchik.
#2] Don’t be surprised to see less angst toward Trump’s foreign policy strategy. Obviously the corporate media TDS moonbats won’t change their stance; however, those who look at the larger geopolitical issues are beginning to see indications of how The Trump Doctrine is actually beginning to make significant strategic sense. They’re late to this comprehension, but it their awakening is notable nonetheless.
(more…)
Smart move by the Trump administration, Rex Tillerson and Nikki Haley. After showing the United Nations Security Council members the proposed resolution against North Korea last Tuesday, they are calling for a vote this Monday.
China and Russia are already on record saying additional economic sanctions would be needed; but also pushing the request for diplomatic talks more prominently.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States called for a vote Monday on a U.N. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea, a move that could lead to a showdown with the country’s biggest trading partner China and its neighbor Russia.
The Trump administration adopted a totally new approach with this resolution, circulating an American draft Tuesday and setting a vote six days later. With previous sanctions resolutions, the U.S. spent weeks and sometimes months negotiating the text with China and then presenting a resolution to the rest of the Security Council for a vote.
(more…)
More Bigly winning. This announcement must be contextualized with timing and prior knowledge of discussions between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Remember, the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) just held their economic meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for talks with North Korea, saying sanctions are not a solution.
Putin made the remarks Wednesday after meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Vladivostok, Russia. North Korea says it detonated a hydrogen bomb in its sixth nuclear test on Sunday.
Putin, speaking in China on Tuesday, had condemned the nuclear test as provocative, but said that Russia views sanctions on North Korea as “useless and ineffective.” (link)
As you might remember, in response to a thermonuclear atomic weapons test by North Korea Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is now in the process of writing additional sanctions he will guide into the hands of U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Ambassador Haley will then create a U.N. Security Council resolution containing further economic sanctions toward North Korea using treasury department guidance.
However, as a direct result of the escalation from the DPRK, we can easily predict the final draft will not just target North Korea, but will more substantively target North Korea’s economic enablers.
This is where things get super interesting because all prior U.N. action has built upon itself to these specific ‘enabler’ state sanctions.
Through two rounds of Security Council resolutions both China and Russia have supported the economic sanctions, knowing they would use various workarounds to continue their duplicity. However, now those sanctions become a risk to the economies of China and Russia because Secretary Mnuchin is likely to use the weight of the dollar in trade contracts as the trigger for sanctions against China and Russia.
(more…)

