Mr. Wonderful is earning his nickname again.
Kevin O’Leary, the famous “Shark Tank” investor and television personality, in an appearance on Fox Business with host Stuart Varney, is dragging China’s prospects in the ongoing tariff conflict with the Trump administration, and he’s done it in his usual inimitable style.
“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary is taking another big bite at China over its tariff negotiation reluctance, warning they could be “virtually screwed” in a stalemate.
“The big behemoth story we’ve been talking about so much is China. We’ve got to figure out where they sit in trying to come into the narrative,” O’Leary said on “Varney & Co.” Monday.
He’s spoken about the tariffs before. And, yes, as my colleagues Nick Arama and Chase Jennings have recently described, he’s talked about jamming a 400 percent tariff right up Beijing’s fourth point of contact. But, he also acknowledges that this won’t happen – and tells us why.
“Even though I want 400% [tariffs], but that’s just bombastic, 100-plus percent wipes out all trade,” he continued. “Xi [Jinping], at some point, has to take the olive branch that’s been offered twice over the weekend by Trump.”
China, as I’ve written before, needs us more than we need China. We can afford to go without buying their stuff more easily than they can go without selling that stuff to us.
See Also: Mr. Wonderful: ‘It’s Time to Squeeze Chinese Heads Into the Wall, Now’
Another option China has is dumping the many U.S. Treasury securities they have in their possession, and unsurprisingly, Mr. Wonderful has some thoughts about that, as well.
O’Leary has previously been outspoken about his belief that China should get hit hardest by Trump’s tariff war, and has explained that selling their U.S. Treasury securities won’t help them in the conflict.
China indeed holds a significant amount of Treasury securities, with $760 billion worth of holdings, Reuters reported.
“[Xi Jinping] doesn’t have the option to sell T-bills. People keep saying, ‘Oh, he’s going to be disruptive by selling T- bills.’ That will enhance the price of his currency and make his products even less competitive worldwide. That will devastate his economy, which is already on the brink,” the millionaire entrepreneur explained.
A big part of China’s trade strategy has involved the manipulation of its currency to ensure Chinese goods stay cheaper than similar products made in the West. Here’s where Mr. O’Leary’s remarks get a little puzzling, as the sudden sale of U.S. Treasury notes would provide an influx of capital into China; one would think that would lower the value of their currency, just as the Biden administration debased the American dollar by turning the Fed’s money printers on to turn out a few extra trillion fiat dollars.
Given his background, though, Mr. Wonderful’s ideas warrant some thought. China’s economy isn’t on as stable ground as they would like the West to think. Their real estate market is a house of cards, foreign investors are fleeing China to the tune of $168 billion in 2024 alone. Much of their citizenry outside the major cities is still living in what is essentially an early 19th-century lifestyle. And, we must also remember, so much of China’s face to the world is, to be blunt about it, faked.
As things stand, it still looks like America has the edge here. Both sides will take some economic hits, as happens in any such conflict, but we have half again as much per capita GDP as China – and over a score of other nations, including Pacific powers like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam, are making overtures – to the United States.
Help RedState continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration’s accomplishments as we continue to usher in the Golden Era of America. Join RedState’s VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership today.
