On 21 February, U.S. President Donald Trump posted to his Truth Social platform with a pointed announcement: he would team up with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to dispatch a large medical vessel to Greenland, citing the plight of "many people who are sick and not being taken care of there." Trump claimed the ship was already en route. However, his plan was rejected by Denmark, so was his claim that sick people in Greenland were not taken care of.
The reality is, anyone who has been tracking Chinese diplomacy over the past year would recognize this playbook instantly. On 5 September 2025, the Chinese Navy's hospital ship Silk Road Ark departed Quanzhou, Fujian Province, bound for the South Pacific and Latin America to execute Mission Harmony 2025 — a sustained, documented humanitarian deployment that Trump's announcement conspicuously mirrors.
The results have been concrete and verifiable: officers and crew have delivered medical services to communities across South America, with cumulative outpatient visits reaching 22,000.
According to a CCTV report dated the 22nd, the Silk Road Ark has been navigating the Eastern Pacific for over 20 consecutive days. During the Lunar New Year holiday, the ship's command overhauled its food storage and temperature-controlled preservation systems — all to ensure officers and crew could sit down to a fresh, nutritious New Year's Eve dinner. The kitchen team, it turns out, had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Ingenuity in the Pacific
Make no mistake: ocean voyages present brutal logistical challenges, and fresh soy products are among the first casualties of long resupply intervals. So squad leader Ban Hangyuan — nicknamed "Tofu Sergeant" by his crewmates — improvised. He soaked soybeans, ground them into a slurry, boiled and filtered the liquid, then used purified seawater to slowly coagulate the curd. After pressing it into moulds and letting it set for an hour, smooth, silky-white "Silk Road Ark"-brand "seawater tofu" came straight out of the mould — and promptly became the most popular signature dishes among the crew.
Though the ship sailed 13 time zones from home, a spirit of reunion filled every corner of the vessel. On New Year's Eve, the dining hall was decked with lanterns and streamers, warm with the full flavour of the season. A steaming banquet — ten auspicious dishes, balanced between meat and vegetables and rich in nutrition — was served hot, and the crew raised their glasses in toast.
To date, the Silk Road Ark has visited six countries — Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, Jamaica, Barbados, and Brazil — with technical port calls in Nicaragua and Uruguay. The cumulative tally: 22,148 outpatient consultations, 2,417 surgeries, 120 inpatient admissions, and 12 medical exchange sessions. Each stop has deepened China's friendly medical cooperation with the countries visited.
Deep Throat
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
Actions speak louder than words. Conn Selmer — the largest manufacturer of brass and orchestral instruments in the United States, owned by Wall Street billionaire John Paulson — has announced it will move production of tubas, marching tubas, and part of its French horn output from its Eastlake, Ohio plant to China. The factory closes at the end of June, cutting 150 jobs.
Conn Selmer – the largest manufacturer of brass and orchestral instruments in the United States.
The contradiction here is hard to ignore. Paulson is not only a major financial backer of Trump — he is a political ally who has publicly pledged to defend American manufacturing. His actions now run directly counter to his "America First" rhetoric, and the workers bearing the cost are furious.
Paulson is both a major financial backer of President Trump and a political ally who has pledged to defend American manufacturing.
According to a Reuters report on April 17, Paulson raised about US$50.5 million for Trump's 2024 election campaign. In a September interview with CNBC that year, he declared: "We can’t have American producers closing American factories and offshoring. We need to protect American jobs and protect American manufacturing."
Yet this month, Conn Selmer confirmed that its Eastlake brass instrument plant will cease operations entirely, with production shifting to China. As early as February, The Guardian had revealed Paulson's plan to outsource most of the factory's operations, describing the move as "a slap in the face" to workers.
Paulson, now 71, heads the investment firm Paulson & Co. He earned the nickname "the God of Short-Selling" and is widely regarded as one of finance's most influential figures. His ties with Trump stretch back to 2016, when he publicly backed Trump after the Republican nomination and served as a top economic adviser to the campaign. Today, a deep rift has opened between his business decisions and his political stance — made all the more jarring given his past criticism of outsourcing and his vocal support for tariff policy.
Conn Selmer previously informed the union representing 150 workers that the Eastlake plant closure and production shift had been finalized, with the shutdown scheduled for the end of June.
Conn Selmer had already informed the union representing 150 workers that the Eastlake closure was final, with a June-end deadline. A local United Auto Workers chapter said employees only learned of the shutdown last month, during contract negotiations — when the company made clear the decision was non-negotiable and the plant would simply close. The company had quietly established a factory in China last year and had been gradually shifting operations there. The restructuring is expected to cut US$13 million in costs in one stroke to maintain competitiveness. Even a 20.4% tariff on Chinese-made brass instruments did nothing to halt the move.
Keith Czika, an 18-year plant veteran, joined fellow union members in lobbying efforts, hoping Paulson's access to Trump might prompt a reversal. It got them nowhere. "Why would Paulson decide to move the factory to China? I still can't wrap my head around it," Czika said. "China, after all, is an economic rival of the United States."
Annette Dombrowski, a 64-year-old cleaner, broke down in tears multiple times during a briefing on severance arrangements. The irony stings: the briefing was held in the American Legion hall where she had once celebrated her own wedding. She relies on modest Social Security income and admits deep anxiety about what comes next. "I think America is in a terrible state right now," she said. "I'm starting to regret voting for Trump."
The political stakes are rising. John Plecnik, a Republican in Lake County, Ohio, issued a blunt warning: if job protection promises are not delivered before the November midterm elections, the party risks losing its working-class base. "If we don’t keep the promise of protecting jobs, I wouldn’t blame them for going right back and voting Democrat."
Of the six Trump-supporting workers Reuters interviewed, five said they would still back Republican candidates. Czika kept his support for Trump — but added a condition: "If you keep your promises, that'll be fine," he said. "If you don't, that'll be a problem. America First. Bring manufacturing back."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, since Trump returned to the White House, U.S. manufacturing jobs have fallen by about 100,000.
The numbers tell a damning story. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. manufacturing employment has dropped by about 100,000 jobs since Trump returned to the White House. Conn Selmer's spokesperson said the plant closure "will enhance our competitiveness and better meet current market demand." As of now, the White House has not responded to workers' calls for Trump to intervene.
