No Kings, Just Hustlers: The West’s Wake-Up Call

2025 has been a disastrous year for the Western camp—one glaring setback after another. Their losing streak is impossible to hide. Why is this happening? Let’s dive into the latest news and analysis.

China’s Reference News pointed to an October 16 article on the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung website, headlined “China, not Trump’s Washington, is the real world power.”

It argues that before the close of the decade, China will become the world’s leading power. Washington’s unpredictable domestic and foreign policies have chipped away at America’s credibility and global charm. By contrast, Beijing’s steady, cooperative stance looks far more appealing in a chaotic world—something many Western pundits are reluctant to admit.

Latest polls from countries worldwide—including many in Europe—show China topping the popularity charts, leaving the US in the dust. China now holds the crown for soft power. Instead of listing every win one by one, let’s flip the script and see where America as the West’s leader is dropping the ball. German outlets point out that Trump’s “America First” doctrine has alienated partners, eroded alliances, and sapped US allure. But is it just Western in-fighting? This reveals a century-long blind spot: too often, the West has either been living in a self-fulfilling narrative or ignored capitalism’s democratic flaws—embracing fairy tales over logic. The bottom line? The US and its Western allies, Germany included, crumble under real pressure.

China Holds the Cards

The answer to who’s serious is written on the wall: China’s the only one playing for keeps.

Over the weekend, over 2,700 US cities—from New York to the smallest towns—flooded the streets under the banner “No Kings,” airing their discontent with Trump. When reporters asked him about it, Trump shot back, “I’m not a king.” (Deutsche Welle)

Trump may deny being a king, but he’s the ultimate street boss. After nearly a year, his crude, street-fighter approach—pure street smarts—makes it clear the White House is run by hustlers. They lash out when they lose and double down when they win. If their usual smoke-and-mirrors get exposed, they erupt in profanity-fueled tantrums. From the president and vice president down to the War and Treasury secretaries—and even the White House press secretary—it’s the same rush. With tactics like that, who’d mistake Trump for royalty? As Cantonese says: “Even in the dragon robe, he looks less like a crown prince—let alone an emperor.”

Two real stories from Europe and America lay their ugly truth bare—they read like chapters from China’s classic collection of supernatural tales “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio”.

Ghost Stories of the West

In 2012, the Costa Concordia—with 4,232 passengers aboard—hit a reef off Italy and flipped, killing 32 and injuring 64. Three years later, Captain Francesco Schettino was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and slapped with a 16-year sentence. He broke down in court, insisting he was just the cruise line’s fall guy to protect its bottom line.

Back in 1912, the Titanic rammed an iceberg in the North Atlantic and went down, taking over 1,500 lives out of 2,200 on board. The tragedy laid bare the ship’s lack of lifeboats. Rumor has it Captain Edward Smith turned down rescue offers after the crash—and he was never found.

If there was ever a “Titanic spirit,” design flaws aside, it sure didn’t save the captain. A century on, prosecutors branded him a “reckless fool” who “ditched his passengers to save himself.” How does the West shrug this off?

I’ll spare you the full breakdown—this screams “Painted Skin” from Strange Stories. And guess what? Google’s AI nails it in its summary:

Google AI Spills the Moral

First takeaway: don’t let looks fool you. The tale warns against those who wear human skin with scorpion hearts hidden inside.

Second lesson: moral retribution exists. Good or bad, actions have consequences—so be kind and stay on guard.

See the point? With AI as our guide, we don’t need to wait for dawn. Bravo!

Deep Blue

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

In the latest international upheaval, Europe is taking the hardest hit. After 300 years of modern civilization and the churn of imperial powers, that era is gone, and a better tomorrow is nowhere in sight.

Europe has one problem: it cannot take care of itself. “No one really knows whether Europe would still be able to produce toothpaste if it weren’t for China,” the EU Chamber of Commerce said.
 
Europe doesn’t make toothpaste; it sells luxury brands. Fine — look at the latest news. Reuters reports that the U.S.-Israel-Iran war has delivered a blow to European luxury labels. Sales at Dubai’s upscale malls, packed with wealthy shoppers, have fallen 50 percent, and LVMH, France’s largest luxury group, says wealthy Middle Eastern customers have paused spending in Europe because of the conflict in the Gulf region.
 
The New York Times, in a piece headlined “Europe Is Done With Appeasing Trump”, lays out several of Europe’s current pains.
 
“The barrage of tariffs that opened the second Trump administration, aimed indiscriminately at friend and foe; the brazen demands that Denmark cede Greenland to the United States, and now the absence of any consultation with European allies before joining Israel in an attack on Iran that has affected the entire world, have erased any illusion among most Europeans that Mr. Trump is anything but an unpredictable, vindictive and uncontrollable danger,” it wrote.
 
Trump’s latest move is to impose a blockade on all Iranian ports from Monday, adding another barrier in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. president has repeatedly said, with obvious satisfaction, that America has oil and natural gas, and that oil shipping blockage cannot bring the United States to its knees. In other words, if Iran wants a war of attrition, the White House is ready to go all the way. America’s NATO allies, meanwhile, make clear they will “decline to join in.” Europe’s oil supply is already under pressure: Russian oil and gas are cut off, and Middle Eastern shipping now faces a second lock. So is Trump punishing Iran, or Europe?
 
“Last year, export controls imposed by Beijing on seven rare earth elements and the magnets made from them had especially severe consequences. China is a global leader in the production of these critical raw materials, which are widely used in electric motors, smartphones, and numerous everyday electronic devices,” Deutsche Welle reported. “The EU Chamber of Commerce said nearly one-third of its member companies indicated in a questionnaire survey at the beginning of this year that their business had been affected by China’s export control measures.”

The EU Chamber of Commerce knows perfectly well that China-EU relations have been pulled off course by the United States, and that Europe has not shaped its foreign and trade policy around its own interests. It has even had to tear out 5G networks built by Huawei and ZTE, while Chinese electric vehicles face restrictions. That has only made China-EU ties more tangled. Europe can hardly be called arrogant now. Energy supplies are unstable, and rare earth constraints have turned it into an industrial power with nothing usable to work with. So what now?
 
Although calls to “de-risk” economic ties with China have persisted for years, many European companies continue to bet on the Chinese market. Over the past year, EU figures show that 26% of companies said they were relocating their supply chains to China, “a proportion twice that of companies choosing to move their supply chains out of China or establish a second hub overseas.” The trend is clearly still going strong.
 
Europe’s major powers, including France, Italy and Germany, all feel the need to break free from the manipulation and humiliation imposed by the United States, especially the Trump team. Europe has finally woken up and is now pushing for independence and autonomy, placing its national destiny firmly in its own hands.
 
Nothing in the world is difficult if you are willing to scale the heights. Europe becoming strong again is no dream, but starting over takes patience. I would say 300 years is enough for you to turn things around.