Chapter 1284 The most serious situation

If we only talk about "sanctions", no country is more experienced than Daxia: Daxia has been under sanctions every minute and every second since its birth, and everyone is used to it.

It's ridiculous that there are still many public intellectuals who are shouting with all their might: flies don't bite seamless eggs, and Daxia must improve itself to cater to the West in order to avoid sanctions.

This statement is ridiculous: it's clearly the fly's fault, but the egg is being held responsible? Is someone crazy?

Especially in recent years, Daxia has been developing better and better, so the country has faced more and more sanctions, such as trade wars one after another, and various bills interfering with Daxia have continued to appear.

So what did Daxia do? In the early years, when the economy was bad, they were conserving their energy. Now that the economy is good, they are directly responding by introducing the "Counter-Sanctions Law". If anyone dares to "sanction" again, Daxia will directly "counter-sanction".

This made those countries unbearable again: "I can hit you, how dare you fight back?" So they began to accuse Daxia of "wolf warrior diplomacy". There was nothing they could do about it, because there were too many dogs barking at Daxia.

But no matter what, since the release of the "Counter-Sanctions Law," the entire Daxia has become much quieter. These days, even a fool knows that there's money to be made by following Daxia. Now, anyone who wants to sanction Daxia will have to think twice.

The most fundamental reason why Daxia is confident in launching the "Counter-Sanctions Law" now is that Daxia has become stronger. If it were decades ago when the entire country's foreign exchange reserves could not catch up with Xiao Peng's current wealth, launching the "Counter-Sanctions Law" would still be ineffective.

A country’s own strength is its foundation.

However, as the country most susceptible to sanctions in the world, Daxia also has its own headaches, namely the 'SWIFT' system.

The SWIFT system, which stands for "Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication," was established in 1973 to facilitate cross-border financial transactions.

After all, the monetary systems of different countries are different. SWIFT provides a standardized coding format so that cross-border settlements can be standardized and automated.

For example, if Xiao Peng wants to remit money back home, he typically does so via SWIFT wire transfer. He enters a SWIFT code, and the bank then automatically transfers the money through the SWIFT system, with settlements occurring between banks. The vast majority of financial institutions worldwide are now connected to the SWIFT platform, and nearly 99% of cross-border remittances are conducted through it.

Although the SWIFT platform is nominally a non-profit international organization among international banks, the large-scale clearing system for the US dollar is actually controlled by the Americans. Now the two most important information exchange centers of SWIFT are in the Netherlands and New York. The Americans actually control the SWIFT platform with the New York information exchange center. Basically, all international account information is under the control of the Americans.

Watch the news: the US freezes one country's dollar account today, and another's tomorrow, all thanks to its control of the SWIFT system. Simply freezing dollar accounts can block a country's foreign exchange reserves. Countries like Russia, Iran, and Libya have all been subject to such sanctions.

The Americans have also achieved their "financial hegemony" by monitoring the SWIFT system. This is also why countries around the world are now reducing their US dollar foreign exchange reserves.

Being expelled from the SWIFT system is a serious problem. The most obvious examples are North Korea and Iran, both of which have been expelled from the SWIFT system. North Korea's economic situation is well known, but what about Iran? One of the world's largest oil producers is currently struggling. Many trade transactions are no longer possible.

In today's globalized economy, being kicked out of the SWIFT system is definitely the most terrifying form of sanctions. Being kicked out of the SWIFT system basically means that the entire country's international trade will suffer a devastating blow.

For example, China is now making every effort to promote the internationalization of the RMB, and Russia has established the SPFS financial transmission system covering 23 countries and organizations, in fact, these are all aimed at preventing themselves from being kicked out of the SWIFT system.

However, as the "world's manufacturing factory," attempting to expel Daxia from the SWIFT system would essentially mean mutual destruction, so this possibility is unlikely. Russia, however, does need to be a concern, as it lacks Daxia's sophisticated production system. Rumors about expelling Russia from SWIFT have persisted for years.

So now Russia hasn't kicked SWIFT out, but it's kicking Belarus out instead? What's this? Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys?

But one thing is certain: Belarus' foreign trade economy will suffer a fatal blow.

Xiao Peng was shocked when he heard this, but Lukashenko looked calm.

"It's okay," Lukashenko said. "Our country won't sit idly by. We've formed the 'Russia-Belarus Unity' and are strengthening economic and technological cooperation with Daxia. With the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Railway, our country will certainly be affected, but it won't be as severe as imagined."

Xiao Peng saw that Lukashenko's expression did not seem to be joking. If they were not worried, what was he worried about?

He could also understand why Lukashenko and others were so confident: they had embraced the strong support of Daxia.

The entire Belarus is almost the same size as Hunan Province, but the total population of the country is only more than 9 million. I am not bragging. For the current Daxia, it is just a "little brother". We can help them solve their economic problems and expand our influence at the same time. It is a win-win situation!

Of course, even if they embrace the big legs, their country must go through a period of "buffer period". There are many things involved here. The key is whether the Belarusian government can get through this period stably.

Xiao Peng raised his glass and said, "I believe your country will get better and better. We in Daxia are used to being sanctioned. I hope you will be like us, becoming stronger the more we are suppressed!"

Lukashenko raised his glass and said: "I believe so too. No matter what others say about Daxia, we trust you."

After clinking their glasses and draining the contents, Xiao Peng poured himself another glass of whiskey. "But you've really screwed me this time. Everyone thinks I'm a gangster now! Lukashenko, what are you doing out here with all these girls? Do you know what? People think you're a professional teapot!"

Lukashenko smiled bitterly and said, "You think I want this? You think I want to take them out? But there's no way. This is a death order from the higher-ups."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion, "What are the origins of these girls?"

Lukashenko said: "They? They are the 'fallback route'!"