I keep seeing idiotic analyses arguing that China will come out of the Iran War a big winner.
These are the same people telling us that Iran has become a world power through the brilliant move of getting the crap pounded out of it, losing most of its offshore assets, having its navy sunk, its leadership decapitated, and its military-industrial complex wiped off the map.
That's some genuine 18-dimensional chess that Iran is playing.
The same must be said of China, which lost one of its most important clients and oil suppliers earlier this year, when Trump captured Nicholas Maduro, turned the Venezuelan government into an ally, and in the process blew away China's best air defense systems without losing a single man.
If this is true — and I think it is — Trump’s war in Iran will be remembered not just as a victory, but also a heroic one. pic.twitter.com/0kfVXE5azB
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) April 15, 2026
And remember China's takeover of the Panama Canal? Probably not, because Trump kicked them out bloodlessly. Rather than controlling one of the world's most important chokepoints, China got squat.
President Trump remains laser focused on securing the world’s choke points.
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) April 13, 2026
The Strait of Malacca is unequivocally more important than Hormuz.
On one side of the Strait is Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. On the other side is Indonesia. https://t.co/IrAvSbRdrA
Well, not squat. China instead got something much worse: a lot of countries viewing them as weaker than the United States, and these countries are placing their bets on us. Indonesia. Singapore. The UAE and Saudi Arabia.
They look at China warily, and they look at Venezuela, Cuba, and now Iran as object lessons: be friendly with the United States, and things go well. China? Not so much.
80% of China's oil imports pass through the Strait of Malacca, controlled by Indonesia.@SecWar just elevated Indonesia to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership.
— Rick de la Torre (@vrk_rick) April 14, 2026
That puts the United States military in position near both of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.… https://t.co/OGiSgrE0ia pic.twitter.com/YRGshMuwEW
Iran provided another object lesson in the relative power of Chinese versus American military prowess, and in the process, China lost its second major source of discount oil. Basically, it has Russia for that. For full-price oil, it must come to...the United States, or some other supplier who isn't so friendly to them.
BREAKING: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. has already put two Chinese banks on notice over possible Iranian money flows — warning of potential secondary sanctions.
— Overton (@overton_news) April 15, 2026
BESSENT: “I do have an update on sanctions.”
“Iran is the…or used to be the largest state sponsor… pic.twitter.com/4sbkdQx66U
BREAKING: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. has already put two Chinese banks on notice over possible Iranian money flows — warning of potential secondary sanctions.
BESSENT: “I do have an update on sanctions.”
“Iran is the…or used to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism.”
“China was purchasing more than 90% of their oil, which is about 8% of China’s energy needs.”
“We believe this blockade in the straits, there will be a pause of Chinese buying.”
“But I will tell you that two Chinese banks received letters from the U.S. Treasury…I’m not going to identify the banks…but we told them that if we can prove that there is Iranian money flowing through your accounts, then we are willing to put on secondary sanctions.”
President Trump has had his eyes on China this whole time, and anybody with an IQ over room temperature and who also doesn't spend all their time reading Foreign Policy magazine, the Financial Times, or The Economist, should have been able to figure out that Trump is rewriting the rules in such a way that the United States accumulates power, and China loses it.
“If you think tough men are dangerous, wait until you see what weak men are capable of.”
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) April 15, 2026
—Jordan Peterson pic.twitter.com/ggaXa2qr86
The Europeans are butthurt by the fact that Trump doesn't kowtow to them. They are so used to American presidents caring about what they think and have felt superior to us for so long that Trump's transactional style of politics offends them. He is too crude to tell them what to do.
Trump, though, is trading in soft power for hard power. Under the "soft power" doctrine, the power turned out to be in the hands of those we tried to please. Guess who has it now?
🇪🇺Ursula von der Leyen regarding the energy crises in Europe:
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) April 14, 2026
“The cheapest energy is the one you don't use. Stay home, don't drive, don't use electricity.” pic.twitter.com/unbXMHnFUM
So they are placing their bets on China, which is about as dumb a move as you can make. But then again, these are the same folks who blew up their nuclear power plants, cemented their oil wells, closed their coal plants, cut their refining capacity, and bet big on solar and wind.
In other words, they are really stupid.
Energy.
— Tom Sauer (@thomasbsauer) April 14, 2026
Sea Lines of Communication.
Panama Canal
Venezuela
Strait of Hormuz
Iran
Straits of Malacca
Indonesia
South China Sea
Strait of Taiwan
You guys starting to figure it out yet?
🇺🇸 https://t.co/o07Gq3Yhxo pic.twitter.com/R5DsUmpn8W
The United States has an advantage that China can never match: favorable geography and an unmatched ability to project naval power. In almost any circumstance, we don't have to fight China's navy directly to hurt them. We just have to close the strategic lines of communication that feed the Chinese economy. And they know it:
Trump just announced the Strait of Hormuz is permanently open, with China agreeing to cut off all weapons to Iran—direct result of the naval blockade’s maximum pressure. This is smart, strength-based diplomacy delivering peace without endless war.
— FierceLionProv281 (@FierceLionPrv28) April 15, 2026
What astute diplomatic…
It's hard to put a number on it, but if I had to, I would say that 60% of what Trump is doing in foreign policy is aimed at defanging China.
Trump Downplays Chinese Concerns Over Iran War’s Impact On Its Oil Supplies
— The War Zone (@thewarzonewire) April 15, 2026
The friction between the U.S. and China over disruption in energy shipments the war with Iran has caused remains a major issue.
Updating live:https://t.co/WsZVIohgse
It's really not that hard to see, once you decide that the Experts™ are idiots.
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