Hong Kong vs. China and What that means for the U.S. Trade

JIM LEFEBVRE: The people of Hong Kong are in the streets.

How does this impact the trade negotiations between China and America?

We'll get into that and the ramifications on today's American Confidant.

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ANNOUNCER: The American Confidant.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Hello and welcome to the American Confidant. I'm Jim Lefebvre. I'm joined, as always, with Cash in the studio.
We will be going to Rick later on at the GSI Exchange. And we're pleased to be interviewing today Dr. Dana Cheng from Epoch Times. Cash, introduce Diana to the people and let's get her on.

CASH: Sure. Well, today's show we're going to have Dr. Dana Cheng. She's the senior editor with the Chinese division of Epoch Times. And Epoch Times as a publication that goes out in over 35 countries in 24 different languages with over 105 million views per month. Circulation varies from daily to monthly in many of these countries. And you can also visit it online at theepochtimes.com.

Dr. Cheng, welcome to the show.

DANA CHENG: Well, thank you for inviting me.

JIM LEFEBVRE: It's our pleasure. We see a big rebellion in Hong Kong. We see a lot of people on the streets. We see them peaceful. We see two million.
What percentage of the population is that?

DANA CHENG: Hong Kong has 7.5 million people, so that's one out of four-person going on the street. Almost every family has someone on the street.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Essentially, you have the support of the entire population it sounds like, across the spectrum of young and old.

DANA CHENG: Yeah, exactly.

Just a second. How does that differ from protests in this country? Do you see a difference in how Hong Kong protesting is happening and what's going on in this country in terms of protests?

DANA CHENG: Yes, actually I just spent a few weeks in Hong Kong. I just come back. While they are very peaceful, they are very civilized. Sometimes the police fire tear gas. They help each other to wash their eyes. And young people form different groups, trying to put out the tear gas. And sometimes throwback to the police station. And people are very supportive of each other. Hong Kong people very, very united at this point.

JIM LEFEBVRE: My question is, who's going to give here? Because if these people aren't going anywhere and it doesn't sound like they are,
and they're protesting a situation with the Chinese that I don't think is going to go away, how long before the banks shut in Hong Kong? And how long before the Chinese military moves in?

DANA CHENG: Well, that's a very good question.

You know, first of all, Hong Kong people, they have been promised by Beijing for a free place for at least the 50 years. That agreement signed British join that declaration, that's a promise to them when British hand over Hong Kong to China. So over the last 22 years, their freedom has been gradually eroded. Hong Kong people realize if they don't fight and defend their freedom, they don't have a chance anymore. That's why so many Hong Kong people fill the streets.

CASH: Well, clearly they're in opposition with the mainland government. So how do you see this coming to an end?

What do you see as a possible solution to this problem?

DANA CHENG: OK, so while I was in Hong Kong, the whole atmosphere was very tense. Beijing released video and purposely to scare Hong Kong people. So the video show tanks. The video shows military force cracking down protesters.
So they gave a feel like they can stop them at any time. But Hong Kong people very brave. They continue to go out. A week ago, Beijing sent a top diplomat to the United States. His name is Yang Jiechi. He used to be the ambassador to the United States and he knows a lot of people.So he came and met with Pompeo. His purpose of the visit is to notify the United States, we're going to send troops in.

CASH: Whoa.

JIM LEFEBVRE: They're actually planning to let the troops in?

CASH: Really?

DANA CHENG: Right. So they're trying to test how the US will respond.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Ah, I see.

DANA CHENG: So they're trying to find out. That's why you see in the news last week, Pompeo, Trump, John Bolton, and Mike Pence.

They all came out and publicly support the people of Hong Kong. And because of the strong stand of the United States, Beijing softened it's stance.

MIKE PENCE [VIDEO]: But for the United States to make a deal with China, Beijing needs to honor its commitments, beginning with the commitment China made in 1984 to respect the integrity of Hong Kong's laws through the Sino-British Joint Declaration. [APPLAUSE]

JIM LEFEBVRE: Doctor, you mentioned October 1. Get into that.

DANA CHENG: October 1 will mark the 70th year anniversary of the communists taking over China. So Beijing sees that as a very significant event. And Hong Kong people also target their protests to reach that point.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Ah.

DANA CHENG: So now Beijing wants to resolve this before October 1. But even now, because of the strong stand of the United States, Beijing troops-- their military force would be in Hong Kong right now.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Wow.

CASH: Do you think they'll reach an agreement prior to October 1?

DANA CHENG: China is still a communist regime. The communist regimes don't think in the normal way. They don't think in a rational way. They want to hold down their power, and they feel very insecure. Any traditional value, they see that as a threat.

CASH: Do you think that the Chinese government will back down to this protest? Or do you think that the protesters are going to ultimately prevail?
How do you see-- how do you see this settling?

DANA CHENG: I think, because of the international support, they will not use the military at this point. They have to resolve it. But whether they have the wisdom, whether they would do it gracefully, we don't know. We will see. But Hong Kong people really see America as a beacon of freedom.

CASH: We have another topic we'd like to touch on, which is a trade war and the tariffs. And what is the sense that China is going to allow the US to prevail here? Or do you think they'll reach a settlement negotiation? What's the long view here? How do you see this playing out?

DANA CHENG: Well, the Chinese government, at this point, they want to wait to see Trump leave the office. So they very much want to see the result of the election. They will try in every way to fight with the Trump. China depends heavily on the agriculture product in the United States. But they won't buy the product, although people need it badly. They just want to fight with the Trump. It's really a way to get into the election of the United States.

CASH: Are you suggesting, with the elections over a year and a half away, that we may not see a settlement come December, or the Chinese government is willing to forego a negotiation agreement and allow it to linger into next year?

DANA CHENG: That's the whole strategy of their negotiation.

CASH: Wow.

DANA CHENG: They want to wait to see the elections. And they want to keep the supporting debate over Trump. That's why they don't buy agriculture. It's all because of the election. They import pork from Russia. They don't have enough food to feed the Chinese. They don't mind the price going sky high. They don't mind because they don't take care of these people. They only care about their power.

CASH: So they're willing to sacrifice the good of the people, simply to maintain power, and to ultimately unseat Trump in the elections in 2020? Though let this linger until next year, November?

DANA CHENG: That's the whole strategy.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Do they see the Democrats as more favorable to deal with than Trump?

DANA CHENG: They want a different person. Can you imagine another country wanting a different president for the United States and actively engage in all kinds of ways to make that happen?

JIM LEFEBVRE: Wow. You know what? You know what? You just hit it. You know, they don't like Trump, and they're going to wait him out. They don't care if a million of their people die, as long as they stay in power. Right? Is that it?

DANA CHENG: Yeah. Exactly.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Wow. You know, some of that red, white, and blue and you can rub off on a lot of us. Thank you for joining us today. You know? It's a real pleasure. Cash, you got anything--

DANA CHENG: Yeah. Thanks you for having me.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Absolutely.

DANA CHENG: I have visited more than 20 countries. Every time I travel to another country, I come back. I love this country. I don't think American people understand how lucky we are.

JIM LEFEBVRE: They don't. You know?

CASH: Doctor, we thank you for joining us. Thank you for your time, and thank you for your insight. You're a true patriot, doctor, and we appreciate you.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Thank you doctor, Dr. Cheng. It's a great pleasure.

DANA CHENG: Thank you.

JIM LEFEBVRE: You betcha. Have a great day. Bye bye.

DANA CHENG: Bye.

CASH: Jim, that's amazing.

JIM LEFEBVRE: What? Can you believe that? They'll actually wait it out? It makes sense. They don't want to deal with Trump.
And you know it makes perfect sense. Who else is saying, charge China tariffs? Let's go to Rick on the trading floor at GSI exchange.

Rick, are you there?

RICK: Yeah, Jim. How are you? Wow, that was an incredible interview you had with Dr. Dana Cheng.

JIM LEFEBVRE: There you go, right? You heard all of that right?

RICK: I heard all of that. I mean--

CASH: But Jim, what she just said is incredible-- because this shows that it doesn't matter what the Fed does. Rick--

JIM LEFEBVRE: I was, what, 18-years-old when the Chinese cut this deal. They cut a 50-year deal to buy our debt, and it's payback time. And you know what? They're going to wait it out, and talk about Trump resetting. What is he going to do?

RICK: Well, you know, the only thing that he has left at this point is to devalue the US dollar. What the American people have to realize is that that is going to cause inflation. We are in a trade war. And in order for us to really put the screws to China, we have to devalue the dollar and do interest rate cuts. He's going to push Powell to the bottom. JIM LEFEBVRE: He's going to have to. RICK: We have no stimulus. You know, the Fed is not helping us. So the president is trying to do everything to maintain the economy, you know, and stimulate it. But we need to get rid of the Fed at this point.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Rick, that's my dream, and maybe it'll be realized. Because Donald Trump's going to have to do something, isn't he?

RICK: We have been flooded with calls today from people trying to protect their money, whether in annuities, CDs, retirement accounts, IRAs,
403(b)s, 401(k)s, TSP.

JIM LEFEBVRE: People should not be disillusioned by the fact that just because the prices are sitting still, the buying is massive.

RICK: And they're loading up on gold and silver right now.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Rick, thanks for joining us, man. We'll step in.

RICK: Thank you, Jim.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Got you, Rick. We'll see you. Cash.

CASH: Jim, you know I'm a big believer in precious metals and specifically gold.

JIM LEFEBVRE: What does this mean?

CASH: I do believe that ultimately this trade deal, as Dr. Cheng has just pointed out, the trade deal's not going to be settled in December, which
Is going to affect the stock market here.

JIM LEFEBVRE: That's right.

CASH: Jim, we're going to go into-- this is going to be very tough on the American people for a period of time. The markets are going to get disrupted.
It's going to happen now, Jim. We're on the eve of it right now. Anybody who's sitting on the sidelines can see the events unfolding around the world and if they think it's not going to affect us here, they're grossly mistaken. Jim, this is about our economy. We're at we're at war. This is a currency war.
It's an economic war. And Jim, unless people take measures to protect themselves by ensuring their currency-- it's the only freedom we have, Jim. Put your money in gold.

Become your own banker. This is about saving your own self here in America, the greatest country in the world.

Call GSI Exchange. Get online at GSIexchange.com.

This is crucial. This is an economic war of epic proportions.

JIM LEFEBVRE: Epic. And speaking of epic, thank you, Dr. Cheng, at the Epoch Times. And thank you for your movement. Thank you for your passion. And hopefully here in this country, we can ignite here, and we can sense that our freedoms may be lost. The specter of communism-- do we recognize it in our own country?

Thanks to you, maybe we will.

Thank you, Cash.

Thank you, Rick, at the GSI trading desk. And we'll be back on the
next American Confidant.