The Ideas Which Are Changing History

Development is the basis for world peace, and this is a concept which Lyndon LaRouche has put forward with scientific rigor, for decades. And that policy not only has become increasingly hegemonic as the trans-Atlantic region has become increasingly bankrupt, but I would say that we're on the verge of that policy not only becoming hegemonic, but actually consolidating itself on a global level, to the extent to which the United States is brought into that dynamic. We have circulated a petition for some time, calling for the United States to join the BRICS. The BRICS nations are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which have been actually pushing this kind of policy. And under Obama, or had Hillary Clinton won the election, the United States joining that process would have been the furthest thing from reality, because their policy was the British policy of geopolitics, of war. I would say that we're on the verge of this policy of economic development, of the "One Belt, One Road" policy, coming into a position of consolidation. As you may have heard, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was recently in China. When he was there, he actually endorsed the policy formulation of President Xi of China. He said that "we agree with the policy of nonconfrontation, mutual respect, and win-win" as opposed to a zero-sum game, which is what geopolitics is. In other words, somebody wins, somebody loses-or everybody loses, in fact. But in fact, the Chinese are putting forward this perspective, and Tillerson endorsed that perspective. There is a conference that will take place in Beijing on May 14 and 15, on the "One Belt, One Road." As many as 60 or more nations are expected to be there. President Trump has been invited to go there. That's a definite possibility, although there is no confirmation of that at this point. It is possible that there will be a summit between President Trump and President Xi in early April in the United States, and if that were to occur, that would probably mean that Trump would move in the direction of endorsing the One Belt, One Road policy. As you may know, another Asian leader, Shinzo Abe from Japan, also recently came to the United States. He is working very closely with the Russians on economic development, and he made offers of investment in the United States to help redevelop U.S. infrastructure, and there is potential that the Chinese would do the same as a result of the One Belt, One Road policy.