Ludovic Lassauce

free thinker, tech entrepreneur, libertarian, accredited mediator, bitcoin

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@MsMelChen Is it really a choice ?

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@JLMelenchon Décidément votre prose est homérique

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@D162Michele Yeah and I wonder why they complained there is no black and Hispanic in the Chinese delegation

[Melissa Chen @MsMelChen]

Everyone who is up in arms about Trump "kissing Xi's ass" needs to understand that this is realpolitik and dealmaking.

Trump is, by a mile, the most aggressive president America has had against the CCP in modern history. No one else imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, banned Huawei from domestic networks, put the entire CCP military-linked ecosystem on the entity list, restricted semiconductor exports, strengthened the Quad, and publicly called out China's currency manipulation, IP theft, forced tech transfers, and South China Sea aggression the way he did.

Pre-presidency Trump was blunt. If you recall, as a candidate, he often complained about how "China was screwing us over." Literally in 2016 on the campaign trail, he said that "China is raping us."

You need to understand that this posture completely shattered what was bipartisan elite consensus at the time - which was that more engagement with China on economic terms would liberalize and democratize China (ethnocentric projection once again), and that as China became more integrated into the global system, they would act more and more like responsible stakeholders. Every President since Nixon pushed closer economic integration while ignoring the OBVIOUS signs. This was especially supercharged under Bush, Clinton and Obama (but not Biden).

And yet at the time, the mainstream media painted him as a xenophobe for this kind of rhetoric. It wasn't even a subtext - they directly alluded to how Trump was being racist against the Chinese for calling out their unfair trade practices.

Once in office, Trump refined it into a strategy that actually moved the needle while dialing back his strong rhetoric.

The personal flattery - calling Xi a "great leader," talking up respect for China, saying they'll have a "fantastic future together," is all Machiavellian Art of the Deal stuff. Flattery costs nothing and makes the other guy more willing to give ground without looking like he's folding domestically.

The CCP's entire system is built on the leader's prestige. Publicly humiliating Xi or treating him like a subordinate would make him dig in, rally nationalists, and push him to retaliate harder just to save face.

I don't actually think Trump knows about Chinese "honor culture" and the obsession with mianzi (face), but for whatever reason, Trump instinctively understands authoritarian psychology and how to work with it.

The problem is that intellectual types, especially those steeped in liberal internationalist frameworks, tend to struggle with parsing the difference between rhetoric vs. revealed preferences. They're hard-wired to overweight the former.

They treat diplomatic language as a window into the soul, as if it maps directly onto intent rather than as front-facing tool of statecraft. China weaponizes this brilliantly.

It's a lesson everyone should've learned by now. With Trump, ignore the optics and ignore what he says. Just look at his actions, and look at his results.

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@EthanLevins2 10 years brother … learn how to get your fact right

[Fox News @FoxNews]

NEW: California mayor resigns after being charged with acting as an illegal agent of China.

Eileen Wang has agreed to plead guilty as she faces up to 10 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

They say she secretly worked to advance pro-Beijing messaging in the U.S., allegedly spreading propaganda tied to the Chinese government.

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@jacksonhinkle How often do you need to change the battery ?

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@XueJia24682 Only bot can make this kind of statement …. Unreal

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@kediastrolog Try baby milk from China as well…

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@MichaelAArouet @jnbarrot le super power de l’Europe en marche ?

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@ShangguanJiewen When you scratch the surface, it’s not so pretty

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@andres20ad @XueJia24682 The facade is hiding the reality …

[Tiffany Fong @TiffanyFong]

This was posted in 2022…

[UnveiledChina @Unveiled_ChinaX]

China has spent years claiming the US war with Iran has nothing to do with it. Then one of America's top think tanks ran the numbers. It turns out the war is bleeding China from five different directions simultaneously.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a detailed economic analysis on April 30, 2026, examining how the Iran war, now in its ninth week, is hitting the world's second largest economy. The findings are more damaging than Beijing's public posture suggests.

The most immediate pain is energy. China imports over one third of its total crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz every year. Since the war began on February 28, retail gasoline prices in China have surged 39%, and LNG prices have jumped 42%. That is the largest gasoline price spike China has recorded since its current pricing system began in 2013, surpassing even the shock from Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. China has 70 vessels stranded behind the Strait of Hormuz that it is struggling to get free. Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Thai counterpart directly.

The export damage is just as serious. Nearly one third of China's entire GDP growth in 2025 came from net exports, the highest share since 1997. The IMF has already downgraded forecasts for eight of China's top 20 export markets, including the UAE, where projected import growth swung from positive 7.1% to negative 8.4% in a single revision. Fewer customers buying means fewer Chinese factories running.

Then there are the supply chains. Pesticide prices in China surged 46% between February and mid-April. Sulfuric acid, a key fertilizer ingredient, climbed 72%. Polypropylene plastic surged 40%. In industrial regions, factory trucks are lining up to secure plastic supplies. In February 2026, 34% of Chinese manufacturing firms above a designated size were already running at a loss. If that number climbs, layoffs follow. Manufacturing employs roughly one fifth of China's population.

China's chipmaking sector faces a specific chokepoint: helium. China imports 85% of its helium demand, roughly half from Qatar, which is directly affected by the war. No helium means semiconductor production lines slow down. Helium spot prices have already spiked. The effects will compound the longer the conflict runs.

Chinese investments in the Middle East are also at risk. In 2025, the region was the single largest destination for Chinese overseas investment globally, with at least $26 billion in projects signed. A $4 billion Chinese port project in Kuwait was struck by Iranian drone and cruise missiles in March 2026. Beijing has pledged up to $400 billion in Iranian infrastructure over 25 years under a 2021 agreement. That program is now in serious question.

China is better insulated than Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan, which depend on the strait for over 90%, 70%, and 58% of their crude imports respectively. China has the world's largest strategic oil reserve at 1.4 billion barrels. Its coal dependence and EV adoption provide buffers. But better insulated is not the same as unaffected.

Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince that the Strait of Hormuz "should maintain normal passage." That is the closest Beijing has come to publicly acknowledging Iran is the problem. The country that buys over 80% of Iran's oil is now quietly hoping its best energy client stops blocking the waterway that feeds its own economy.

Full analysis: https://t.co/dnLoQzsldb

#China #CCP #IranWar #Economy #StraitOfHormuz #Energy #Geopolitics #CSIS #ChinaEconomy #MiddleEast

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@chinafutureclub Singapore way better.

[Ludovic Lassauce @llassauce]

@ClownWorld It’s called “cha bu duo” in China… they try to make it but they always fail on one or two details… that often matters

[WarrenVsCCP | 🇺🇸🇹🇼🇺🇸 @WarrenVsCCP]

Real video of Tiananmen Square on June 4th.

After watching it, you will no longer believe the CCP's lies!

Apart from the People's Liberation Army of China 🇨🇳, no other country's army in the world would drive a column of tanks into the square of its capital and open fire on its thousands of college students.

[UnveiledChina @Unveiled_ChinaX]

What happens when a country sacrifices a real partner to chase Beijing's promises? Ask South Africa. It's living the answer right now.

In October 2024, South Africa's government publicly downgraded Taiwan's representative office, renaming it from the "Taipei Liaison Office" to a mere "Taipei Commercial Office" and demanding it leave the capital Pretoria for Johannesburg. This tore up a 1997 agreement originally brokered by Nelson Mandela. Beijing called it a "correct decision." Taiwan called it exactly what it was: political submission to the Chinese Communist Party.

The consequences came fast. By 2025, South Africa's fresh apple exports to Taiwan dropped from $7.5 million to zero. Apple juice exports collapsed 98%. In September 2025, Taiwan did something it had never done before in its history: it imposed chip export controls specifically targeting South Africa, restricting 47 semiconductor products. South Africa asked for talks within two days.

There are also 450 Taiwanese-owned factories currently operating in South Africa, employing roughly 40,000 people. All of that is now at risk.

And what did South Africa actually get from China in return? A $9.7 billion annual trade deficit. Since 2000, over $114 billion in net cash has flowed from South Africa to China. Pretoria ships raw minerals. Beijing ships back manufactured goods. A framework trade deal was only signed in February 2026, after years of waiting, with full terms still being worked out.

This is not new behavior from the CCP. In 2019, the Solomon Islands cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized Beijing instead, lured by promises of over $500 million in Chinese investment. The investment largely never materialized. Nicaragua was promised a $50 billion canal in 2013, with a ceremonial groundbreaking held in 2014. Not one meter was ever built. The project was officially cancelled in 2024. When Honduras cut ties with Taiwan in 2023, the U.S. State Department publicly warned: "The PRC makes many promises that are unfulfilled."

The CCP's playbook is consistent. Promise big, demand political concessions upfront, and deliver as little as possible. South Africa alienated a real partner, triggered an unprecedented semiconductor weapon aimed directly at its economy, and put 40,000 jobs at risk for a trade relationship that structurally drains it every single year.

#SouthAfrica #Taiwan #China #CCP #Geopolitics #TradeWar #Semiconductors #BRICS #Africa #Diplomacy

[Raph Israël @raphlesioniste2]

🔴 États-Unis 🇺🇸 | Quand la haine de Donald Trump remplace toute réflexion, il ne reste plus que l’idéologie

Une journaliste lit à des passants des citations très dures sur l’Iran en leur faisant croire que c’est Trump qui les a prononcées :

« L’Iran est une force déstabilisatrice et dangereuse. Nous pourrions totalement les anéantir. Ces gens doivent comprendre que… »

Réactions immédiates des gauchistes :

« Trump est fou ! Délirant ! Atteint de démence ! Horrible ! C’est de la suprématie blanche !
Heureusement qu’Hillary et Kamala ne sont pas comme ça ! »

Puis la révélation :
Ces phrases ont été dites par Hillary Clinton et Kamala Harris, pas par Trump.

Les visages se décomposent :
« Vraiment ? Ça me rend très triste… »« Vous êtes sérieuse ? »
« Je n’ai jamais entendu ça… »

La haine de Trump a complètement détruit leur capacité à réfléchir. Il ne reste plus que le réflexe partisan et l’idéologie pure.
#Trump #HillaryClinton #KamalaHarris #Iran

[Pavel Durov @durov]

Macron’s France is losing legitimacy as it weaponizes criminal investigations to suppress free speech and privacy. The U.S. Department of Justice has refused to assist France in its investigation of @elonmusk, calling the case politically motivated.

The French prosecutor’s office claims to be independent, but that is untrue: French prosecutors are hired, fired, and promoted by the government. The judicial police — who provide often misleading reports to investigative judges — are also controlled by the government. 🎭

I’m under a similar investigation in France: over a dozen charges, each carrying up to 10 years in prison. Proud to stand alongside Elon Musk and others targeted by Macron's campaign against digital rights. In Macron’s France, being investigated is the new Légion d’honneur.🎖