Former Diplomat On The Ground In Israel; Trump: China's Xi Had A Bad Moment | NTD Newsroom (Oct. 13)

And joining us now is Bart Maroy, former career diplomat, energy department official, and presidential campaign policy adviser. He's also the president of Marquoy's Partners International Corporation. Bart is currently in Israel. Bart, great to see you. Good evening, I suppose it is for you. It is. It's uh it's evening here. It's great to be with you, Bart. Tell us h how is the feeling there? How is the atmosphere? absolute jubilation and joy. You know, I've been a lifelong Zionist. It's just part of who I am. But I have spent a lifetime as in my career as a State Department Arabist. So, I see both sides of this issue. I I I I talk to people on both sides. I'm up I've spent the day walking the the hills of uh Galilee and Nazareth. And what I was reminded of as I stood up on on the mount of the biatitudes and looked down over the Sea of Galilee, I was reminded of what uh Jesus taught in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Blessed are the peacemakers. President Trump quoted that the other day when he was uh writing about this. And believe me, people here are blessing the peacemakers. I've spoken with Israelis. I've spoken with Israeli Arabs and they are delighted. They are jubilant that this has happened and boy do they like President Trump. Well, well, I think in the in the parliament today, the the response and reaction and welcome that the president got was was quite incredible, Bart. Oh, yes. I I was watching your show earlier and I heard David Worer say that uh he you know sort of chuckle and say I don't think any Israeli leader would has ever gotten a response like that. And he's right because you know only half or 55% will support any given Israeli leader. Here the support was absolutely 100%. um leftists, rightists, centrists, the the Arab parties, the socialists, all of them loved President Trump and were were happy for what he did. I spoke to a former chief of naval operations um uh tonight. He he was uh you know, his his counterpart was Admiral Mullins back in the day and uh maybe 15 or 20 years ago. and he said, you know, none of this would have happened without President Trump's personal intervention. This took personal intervention. Another Israeli told me something very similar said, you know, the credit goes to President Trump, to Jared Kushner, and to Mr. Witkoff. He she said those three came in here and Trump came in and made gave it his personal attention and he cast caution to the winds. He he didn't he didn't sit back and say, "Let me see let me send out an army of staffers to decide what I'm going to say." He came he personally negotiated it. He called the leaders of these countries together. And I mean, it's absolutely extraordinary that you would have all those people in one room talking about this and making peace. Abraham Accords that there's got to be forward progress now in the Abraham Accords. There is absolutely no reason not to move forward. And that's not just a ceasefire. That's not just a truce. And it's not just peace. It's normalization. It's recognition. It's exchange of diplomats, exchange of citizens, of merchants, of commerce, of trade, really normal relations. We see Bart the images of Trump with the world leaders. I want to get them while they're on the screen. It was quite remarkable to see Trump with these uh world leaders, such such an array of power and influence uh in in Egypt today. I'm glad you were watching our interview with David Wormser. For me, it was quite a sobering conversation part because David really outlined uh some of the challenges and some of the potential stumbling blocks that could that still face uh this peace deal. Yes. Yeah. It's it it is really serious. You know, this is a part of the world that is inhabited by people with bargaining cultures and bargaining habits. One of the reasons this um that peace is happening is because President Trump is one of those rare Americans who also is a bargainer. These are people who go into the shops and into the souks, into the bizaars, and they negotiate prices. And when I was a diplomat, when I was stationed in Kuwait, we used to say with kind of a, you know, u dark humor, um that that when an American company was signing a big contract there, we would say, "Yes, they signed the contract, but the real negotiation doesn't start until after the contract is signed." And the Americans would come and say, "Hey, we've negotiated the contract." and then their counterparts would say, "Oh, but you know there's this and you know there's that." You're seeing that with Hamas. They've signed the peace deal that agreed that they would give up power, give up weapons and leave Gaza. They're not giving up power. They're not giving up weapons. They are calling Habas fighters back. Um but right now it's just joy at the return of the hostages. Those steps have yet to come and we'll see that we'll see how the implementation proceeds and we'll see whether it is indeed a deal killer. Um both sides have the option to resume fighting and I hope that they don't. I feel joy. I feel peace. Yes. I think that we have a chance for something real here. Indeed. Indeed, Bart, as many of us do. Bart. Um, David Worms raised this point as well about Hamas. You're there in Israel. David Wormser also said they're refusing to give up power. They're refusing to give up their weapons. How do we know this? Well, because they haven't given any weapons yet. They haven't. Uh I I I remember you asked that to David and I thought, well, if he asked me that, I'd say, "Well, where are the weapons that they're giving up?" And and let's see airplanes full of Hamas fighters leaving Gaza. Uh let's see them, you know, leaving and going someplace. They are calling their fighters back. And in fact, now they're putting on uniforms. uh for for 2 years they've been fighting without uniforms which is in total violation of the Geneva Convention by the way because that makes it harder for their enemies to distinguish between fighters and civilians. But now they said, "Here are some brand new uniforms." And they put them on for this ceremony and they're chasing down their opponents among other other factions among the Gazins. And they're there are fights. It's sort of a civil war breaking out among various uh uh warlords or military strength strong military factions among the Gazins and Hamas. So no, they haven't left. They haven't given up power. We'd see it if they gave it up. We'd see them leave. We'd see the piles of weapons they're dropping off. If they're interested in continuing fighting, why would they give up the hostages? I think they knew they they had a matter of days left to survive. The Israeli army had them effectively encircled. the cutteries were put on notice with that strike from Israel u that Israel later apologized for that um they the cutteries don't want the war spreading to Qatar. I suspect that uh I won't be surprised if we see Qatar in sometime in the uh next six months quietly ask the Hamas leadership there to find another place to live, another luxury hotel to live in in another country. Every the the fear of every Arab country whenever you talk about the Palestinians is that the Palestinians will come in and war civil war will ensue. uh they that has been the the pattern the history of of Palestinians living in other countries. You you see it in Europe. You see an importation into Europe and an importation into some American cities and many American college campuses of you know the American college kids don't know anything about the Middle East and they don't know what they're chanting for and what they're shouting for and they march along saying from the river to the sea and you ask them they don't know what river they don't know what sea. Uh they they've just been told that there's an oppressor and a victim. Um, and you know, that's something that, if I may, that's something that I'm hearing also from Israelis, an expression of hope from many Israelis that now that the war is over, that people from Europe and from America, from the rest of the world, and especially young people will come here. They say, "Come and see. Come and see. Look at what is happening for yourselves. look at at what the facts are on the ground. They're hoping that they will come. They hope that they finally get to tell their side of the story without people's minds being transfixed by a war. War is awful. Terrible things happen during wars. And the Israelis are hoping that now there's a chance for them to tell their side of the story. So Bart, to to to finish up here, um it seems on one hand you're hopeful, as we all are, perhaps the the Abraham Accords can spread, can expand, and we can see some kind of relief in the Middle East, but on the other hand, you're not convinced that Hamas, who obviously are backed by Qar and other backers, are actually going to lay down their arms. So which how do you see how do you square that circle? If you're accusing me of being cynical, um, I will res reply with a definition a very wise man told me once. He said, "Cynicism is idealism gone sour." I started out my career 40 years ago very idealistic with great hopes and and ideas that maybe there had to be some solution to this. It's why I came to the Middle East. I figured a Zionist who became an Arabist would have a chance to bring peace and understanding between the two sides. Um, I've seen 40 years of disappointment and I've especially seen tremendous deceit from anyone affiliated with the hardcore Muslim Brotherhood uh faction of Islamist uh political actors. I I've just seen it over and over and over. They will make any promise to stay alive and to get and to stop losing yet another war, yet another battle, yet another uh engagement. and they'll run back and they will regroup and before we know it, you know, somebody will be kidnapped and there will be new hostages and there will be a new attack and there and I I hope I'm wrong, but that's the pattern that I've seen. I can't tell you how many dozens of times over 40 years. That's what I've seen personally. And if you pick up a book and and you do some research, you see that I came in right in the middle of the play and the play had been going on for several acts before that. I just want to look at my notes that I made and see if there was something that I uh Oh, yeah. There there there was another thing that I noticed and that was that all the Gazins the Gazins have been telling a story that they are starving that their children are starving that they are starving that the Israelis have cut off food supplies and you saw them all celebrating and there was not one person that looked starving. They looked fit. They looked healthy. Uh they they looked, you know, uh they looked like normal people leading normal lifestyles, maybe a little overweight. Um there was no there was no difficulty there. Well, I think just like the Israelis who've had a torid time over the past two years, Bart, many of the Palestinians too, it's been a war torn place. So Oh, yes. Oh, it's been horrible. The human suffering has been horrible. Yes. Yeah. that the the Israeli suffering was concentrated. Yes. In the the attacks of October 7th, the Palestinian suffering has gone on for 2 years because Hamas used their population as human shields and they they you know melted away into the population and and it has been horrible. What I'm trying to point out, I'm not making light of the suffering of the Palestinian people. I'm trying to point out that when they claimed the extremity that that that that there was they were in imminent danger of death from starvation. That was a lie. It was not true. And and you see evidence of it now. Just like when they said, "Oh, we don't have uniforms." They had uniforms. They came out in them. Right. Um and and that's what I'm hoping people will look at and say, "Okay, let's see what's really true. Let's come see it for ourselves." Absolutely. Just like with David Worms or Bart Moy's bringing the hope and the the kind of soberness to the conversation. Bart, as always, we appreciate you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for letting me come on. It's been a delight. Always always, Bart. Thank you. Welcome back. I'm Paul Grainy. An eruption of joy after two years of uncertainty and heartache. Two brothers reunite for the first time since one was taken hostage by Hamas. I was so nervous. I was so nervous to meet him in the first time and it was so exciting and and moving. There is no words to describe how we feel. The best day of my life really. The long wait was finally over when Rohan Ol and his brother Olen Ol, who was held captive by Hamas, cheers echoing from their small hometown in Israel at the news of Allen's release. Alain is a pianist who was hurt when attackers stormed the Nova Music Festival. After meeting with his family for the first time in a military camp, Alain and another released hostage were flown by helicopter to a medical center in central Israel. Ronan said his brother is fine and hopes that playing the piano together will help heal Allen's recovery. And we're now bringing in Dr. Jacob Allador, director of American Security at the America First Policy Institute. Jacob, good afternoon. Thank you for having me. Jacob, what's your main takeaway from Trump's whirlwind willing trip across the Middle East today? This is an absolute historic day and it it's you know there was a famous line by Israel's first prime minister David Bengurian that to be a realist in the Middle East you have to believe in miracles. Well this is the biggest miracle anybody had hoped for. Um you know two a nightmare of two grueling years has come to an end. Um and for all the living hostages to be returned to their families is something that I think is only an expression of joy. Now, of course, there are still the remains of those that are deceased, but the fact that President Trump was able to pull this off, that it happened, I think is a testament to his singular commitment and leadership to make peace possible. And I think this is probably the most historic event in the region uh in many many years, perhaps even in a century. What allowed President Trump to make it happen? Well, I think first of all, it was his own determination to see peace. He wanted an end to this war and in particular the hostage issue the hostages released. He of course enabled a series of very important events that brought us to this point including the complete military isolation of Hamas especially after last summer's uh important strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Um and then of course the diplomatic isolation that he brought about of Hamas as well as we saw over the last two weeks with uh eight or so eight or nine Arab or Muslim majority nations coming together and voicing a consensus support voice to the president's effort for peace. Um all of that I think is something we've not seen before. Um and so I think that is what brought these events to bear today. It was quite incredible to see the president there in Egypt with world leaders seated behind him. Such an array of world leaders in power and influence I don't think I've ever seen. Absolutely. I think that's exactly right and to bring them all together. Um I think that was very important and I think obviously that's the next phase in this peace deal. What happens in Gaza? What happens in the region and all of that depends obviously on how our partners work together to make that happen. Jacob, our previous guest, David Wormser, had quite a you could call it a a realistic or downto-earth take. He he he highlighted the, as you did, the the joy of getting the hostages back and and all of the hope that today has brought people, but he also said that this is far from done. In your estimation, what are some of the stumbling blocks or potential stumbling blocks to to making this deal actually take hold? Well, I think obviously there are several phases to the peace deal. The first um is the release of all the hostages and in my view I think that is the beginning of the end of this war. It's the first concrete strategic change in the events on the ground. Um I think of course Hamas still we have to identify and locate all of the deceased bodies. that might take some time but I think today's milestone um I I I think represents an important inflection point in the region where everybody together can move beyond this war beyond the situations on the ground and build together. I mean that really has been if you step back I mean obviously Gaza there's a lot to work out in terms of the day after the transition period and even what happens to Hamas itself. I mean, we've seen a lot of um defiance from the group and even announcements to recruit and and so forth. So, all that will have to be worked out, but ultimately what happened over the last two two years is that because of what's happening in Gaza, um our partners, Israel and its regional neighbors were unable to publicly come out and build peace. That all of that is now possible because everybody reached this important milestone in this war. And Jacob, you may be able to see on your screen just now, we had live shots of them returning uh the deceased hostages back to Israel, which is quite the iconic moment as well. Uh Jacob, you're with the America First Policy Institute. How does President Trump's attention and focus on the Middle East uh fit into this overarching strategy? Well, of course, peace in the Middle East has been a consistent theme of his uh including from his first term. Um, and what we've seen as well about the Middle East over the last especially two decades is that if if we don't have a vision or a policy for the region, then it pulls us in in ways that we don't like, obviously, that are not good for us. And so um I I think ultimately a proactive prosperity focused vision for the region is not only what helps its citizens, its populations live more prosperously and have a better future, but also allows for a more mutually beneficial relationship for us with the world. And so I think it's a testament again to a very singular focus on building peace, on avoiding war, but obviously demonstrating the need for deterrence and all tools of national power to um to send a message to our adversaries um as well as to our friends that we are with them. David, finally, the president said that um this isn't just a pivotal moment and and a moment of hope for the Gaza region, but for the entire Middle East. How do you see relations in the Middle East uh developing uh moving forward? Right. I mean I mentioned earlier that this might be the most important event in the region in over a century. I mean that's a very specific date. You know you had the Sykes Pico agreement over a century ago and it's a little bit of a history lesson but that uh British and French approach the region basically established the dynamics between the different countries for better for worse. Well, fast forward a century. What happens today and we haven't seen in in the region is the elimination of the main strategic threat there, the Iranian regime. So today, for the very first time, our partners uh do not face threats from uh elements from within the region. And yes, Hamas exists. Yes, there are elements of the Houthis and so forth, but they're, you know, basically paper tigers these days. And so, President Trump created this opportunity today for a vast realignment for how our partners work together to build prosperity between themselves, but also, I think, far beyond the region as well, whether that's Ukraine, whether that's in the Pacific or or even here at home. With President Trump, it's interesting. It was a two-pronged approach with Iran. Number one, he of course attacked their nuclear sites, devastated them in that sudden attack. But he also, as he put it today, extended an olive branch and and said that Iran through, I believe it came out and released a statement. It did not want to be in Egypt today, but it did say it supports uh the the peace plan and peace in Gaza. Can you talk a little bit about uh the effectiveness of Trump's Iran strategy? Absolutely. And I think it's really a testament to his leadership that he always prefers and offers consistently the olive branch the opportunity to negotiate to have a diplomatic outcome. But as he said over the summer as well, you know, there's always military options on the table should Iran in this case rush to try to acquire a nuclear weapon. That is a line that he has set u including on his campaign and then before and I think that's a really important message that he sent to the Iranian regime today in the context of this uh important event with the release of all the hostages that Iran look you have an opportunity to change your way to take a diplomatic course to do what's right for the Iranian people as well and integrate them into this very important moment. um what Iran chooses to do obviously is their right to determine, but that option providing that opportunity I think is something that is is such a an important marshalling of American power to to convene different parties to provide that forum. But of course um should threats escalate, you know, we always retain um the the the the authority to uh take other courses and consider other options. Uh Jacob, it's just incredible to watch really. Jacob Olidor at the America First Policy Institute. Thank you, Jacob. Thank you so much. And USChina relations taking sharp turns in just days after Beijing's sudden rare earth restrictions last week. Now, over the weekend, President Trump softened his tone in a post on Truth Social, stating, "Don't worry about China." And that Chinese leader Xiinping just had a bad moment. Less than 48 hours earlier, Trump just vowed hefty new tariffs on China, pushing total rates to about 130% over what he called Beijing's trade hostility. Beijing then fired back on Sunday. Entities Flora Hua has more. President Trump posted the latest update on Truth Social after Beijing pushed back on his tariff hike threats. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded earlier on Sunday. It did not threaten any specific tariffs on US goods in retaliation, but said China is not afraid of a trade war with the US. It also said China's new export controls don't constitute export bans, adding that applications meeting China standards will be approved. Beijing also warned that applications for military related purposes will be denied. Beijing's new restrictions target a wide range of rare earth products. They're critical for both high-end tech manufacturing and military applications. China dominates the global refinement of rare earth. Following China's statement, the US trade representative Greer said the US won't allow China to continue its power grab of rare earth minerals. Here's the ambassador responding to China's reaction at Fox News the Sunday briefing. Well, their announcement today, they didn't announce anything specific. Again, I think that they've realized they've overstepped. And remember, we've had a deal in place with China since May where we said, "We'll keep our broad tariffs in check. If you keep sending us rare earth magnets, we've kept our broad tariffs in check." And they've decided to expand their controls on rare earths. So, so clearly there's a violation of our agreement there. So, it makes sense that the president would would take an enforcement action or propose an enforcement action. Greer also said the US wasn't notified ahead of Beijing's move. Instead, they found out about it from public sources and then reached out to their Chinese counterparts. The top trade negotiator did not root out the possibility of a Trump she meeting at the end of the month. On Friday, President Trump hinted he would cancel that meeting as he condemned China for quote great trade hostility. Just want to confirm, have you canled your meeting with President Xi? And no, I haven't, but I don't know that we're going to have it, but I'm going to be there regardless. So, I would assume we might have it, but uh you know, they uh hit the world with something that really is not anything that people are going to do. And and it's uh it was shocking. Where did that come from? It was just that was out of the blue, right? Out of the blue, they came up with this uh whole import export concept and nobody uh nobody knew anything about it. The Trump administration did not make the tariff hike on China a dumb deal. Back in China, insider sources hint the Chinese regime might be going through a big power shakeup. A former CCP official said insider sources informed him that she might suffered a stroke earlier this week. NTD cannot independently verify the source. President Trump's remark that some very strange things are happening in China has fueled speculations. We will keep you updated. Flora Hua, NT News. And more on US China trade tensions. Treasury Secretary Scott Basson said President Trump was on track to meet with China's Xiinping in South Korea. Basson said there were substantial communications between the two sides over the weekend. Here's the secretary during an interview on Fox News. China that this was a provocative move. Uh we have substantially uh deescalated. Uh President Trump said that the tariffs would not go into effect until November 1st. uh he will be meeting with party chair Xi in Korea. I believe that meeting will still be on. This is China versus the world. They have pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world and you know we're not going to have it. China is a command and control economy. They are neither going to command nor control us. Bessent said the 100% tariff does not have to happen. He said, "Despite the tariff announcement last week, the relationship with China is good." Adding quote, "Lines of communication have reopened, so we'll see where it goes." Basin also said there will be lots of staff level meetings in Washington this week. Those will happen on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington. Besson said the US expects support from allies including Europeans, India, and democracies in Asia. And joining us now is Daniel Akay, chief economist at the Tres's hedge fund and author of many books including freedom or equality. Daniel, it's been a long time. Great to see you. Hi, great to see you, Paul. Daniel, major US stock indexes all in the green today. How are investors looking at these worsening trade tensions between the US and China? Obviously, there was a little bit of nervousness on Friday and it came after markets had rallied so aggressively since the tariff tantrum. But in essence, what many people understand is that this is a negotiation and that uh there there are lots of media messages saying that China doesn't need the US and that China can do whatever it wants. That is not true and it's proven by the messages of uh the of the Chinese officials throughout the weekend and also at the same time a lot of hype and a lot of negative uh messages about the Trump administration saying that the Trump administration suddenly out of the blue implements tariffs. Everybody can see that this is a reaction to uh an uncalled and completely unnecessary uh measure from from China. No. So I think that what we're seeing is basically the the the evidence of a negotiation in real time and investors are understand it. That's why today markets are seeing the uh strongest rally since May. No. Yeah. Indeed, Daniel, I think of anyone investors keep their their their finger on the pulse of this type of thing and try and forecast these things. So really a lot of this has been priced in. But Daniel, regardless of how this latest tit fortat spat goes, do you see the US and perhaps the rest of the free world moving faster to decouple from China? And if you do, what does that mean for investors? Well, all this is proving that unfortunately the Chinese regime has not delivered on its promise to be a reliable and safe supplier. I think that everybody understands that the west cannot simply rely on China for rare earth and for essential essential uh components like like chips. And that is a very unfortunate reality of an economy the Chinese one that that has been closing instead of opening in the past seven years in particular. So obviously what is the number one thing that everybody understands? First rare earths are not rare. There are plenty of them. So the thing that needs to be addressed from western nations is the decision to uh develop those resources and do it quickly. Number two, technology. I think that everybody understands that supply chains cannot be uh so limited in some parts of the of the of the spectrum like in the case of technology and therefore that uh production of of of chips and that technology needs to be a lot more varied. So Scott Besson said it very very clearly. Uh we have understood that you just simply cannot rely on one single nation for the supply of essential components because it's a matter of national security. So all of this is changing the entire landscape and investors are looking for the next story. Everybody is looking at where is it going to be that can get the competitive advantage to deliver on the development of rare earth to uh get a more flexible supply than what exists right now. And second, who is going to be the winner in the technology battle and who is going to develop and build the chips that are going to uh well strengthen the competitive advantage of technology giants. Obviously the bet right now is very simple. Everybody or at least the vast majority of investors are betting that it will be the very very large US companies. And I think that that is one of the reasons why the move in the index is so concentrated on those seven technology giants. Well, Daniel, I'm somewhat glad that it's not just us in the news industry who has to watch these things so closely. You investors also are keeping your eye on these things too. Uh Daniel, but after China ordered that significant restriction, you say they're not rare, but they are controlling a lot of the production of these rare earths, Trump said that that China was weaponizing a monopoly that is built up over years. But Trump also said that the US has a monopoly, monopoly positions much stronger and more farreaching than China. What does Trump mean when he says that? Well, what basically he what he is saying is that China has shown to the world and and the world has finally understood that China's achila's heel is the enormity of the working capital challenge that exporters in China face if they don't sell to the United States. So what President Trump is basically saying is that without the United States and without the United States technology giants, China is playing a control game that only ends up backfiring and generating a domino effect that ends up hurting its exporters, its uh manufacturing sector and also its citizens because domestic demand, let's be fairly honest, in China is exceedingly weak. So I think that all of that is what President Trump is trying to say that in terms of technology in terms of market in terms of the the ability to to get uh the the origination of credit for the development of so many manufacturing and technology giants in in China. All of that also needs the United States. Ultimately, what China has done is completely backfired on on the on the government of China because it's been a it's a very good word, weaponization of a monopoly. It's basically trying to force something that is going to generate a very negative effect. Think about this. Everyone understands that OPEC finally learned that it's makes no sense to try to limit supply and bring the price of uh oil up. Why? Because immediately you get alternatives everywhere. And now we are seeing how OPEC is trying to present itself to the world as the reliable and uh competitive partner and uh trading associate. China is doing the opposite. China is actually hurting itself and she shooting itself in the foot by weaponizing its monopoly on rare earths. That anyone that looks at the world understands is not a monopoly because it's something that can be quietly but very very very rapidly developed all over the world. So Daniel, you're saying that China has this strong position in rare earths and instead of using it to its advantage over the next few years or decades, what it's done now is shown its face to the world and said we could weaponize this at any point. So now the United States or other countries are more likely to start developing these rare earths themselves and and wearing away at China's competitive advantage if I'm not mistaken. Daniel, I've got a few more minutes. I want to ask you about something interesting. Um an interesting take. We saw the price of gold hitting all-time highs. It was something you predicted uh on this show a long time ago. Um how does the price of gold rising play into this global uh reshuffleling of trade relationships and central banking? Oh, it's it's it's an absolutely critical part of it. What is basically happening is that central banks all over the world are abandoning quietly their exposure to European sovereign debt to Japanese sovereign debt if if they have any the UK sovereign debt and US sovereign debt and purchasing more gold. So it's basically a rebalancing of the asset base of central banks. Central banks want more gold as the asset that is going to give them uh stab stability and a real economic return and reducing their exposure to sovereign debt. This is critical because it's part of the decision to try to reduce the dependency on the US dollar. However, when we look at China for example, yes, the central bank is reducing its exposure to the US dollar and increasing its exposure to gold. But the problem is that the Chinese economy is getting into more dollar denominated debt. So its dependency on the US dollar is not diminishing. In in essence, the quest to increase gold uh in the balance sheet of central bank is the evidence that developed economies have lost the confidence of global investors in terms of the stability and the strength of their sovereign debt. people see what's happening in Japan, what's happening in France, what's happening in the UK and what could happen in the US if the negotiations to cut spending are not uh achieved and they say hey we don't believe in the solveny of sovereign debt therefore we want more gold incredible so we see these central banks including China trying to reduce their dependency on the US and perhaps hurt the US but in the end it's easier said than done Daniel Aai at the treasur hedge fund. Daniel, thank you so much. Talk soon. Thank you very much, Paul. Have a good day. And Ukrainian President Fomir Zolinsky will travel to the US this week to meet with President Donald Trump. The meeting between the two leaders follows Trump's threat to Russia that he'd supply Keev with tomahawk missiles. Russia has ramped up attacks in recent weeks, targeting electricity and gas infrastructure ahead of winter. The tomahawks would allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory. More than 3 years into the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the US against supplying long range missiles to Ukraine. Silinski will join a Ukrainian delegation already in the US for preliminary talks. The Ukrainian president added that he would also meet with defense and energy companies and members of Congress. Zinsky said his meeting with Trump could take place as early as Friday.