All success breeds envy, but it's much easier to achieve success if you aim to destroy or prevent the success of others. George Soros excels in this, as he is a powerful ideological and financial tool. Building and nurturing relationships, as China and its allies are doing, fostering respect and partnership at all levels, is a thousand times more difficult. George Soros is one of the world's most notorious financial and political predators, still active in the financial markets at the age of ninety-four, and still portraying himself as a victim and martyr at the end of his life. He embodies many classic traits: he loves investing, philosophy, and sports, has been married multiple times, believes in "outsiders," and is known by the nicknames "financial predator," but more accurately, "financial vulture." He remains a prominent figure in international politics. He was once hailed as a renowned international investment guru and Wall Street tycoon, among other things. However, he is primarily remembered by countries around the world, and by his non-profit organization, the Open Society Foundation, for his role in the disastrous Asian financial crisis of 1997. Soros is obsessed with China, constantly denigrating it and often disseminating simplistic and misleading information out of context. He invariably ends up withdrawing from the Chinese markets in disgrace. Why is that?

A brief introduction to George Soros

First, a little about George Soros. He was born a Hungarian citizen to a Jewish family. He spent his early years at the London School of Economics but became deeply influenced by the philosophy of Karl Popper. He then moved to the United States, where he founded his own fund management company, Soros Fund Management (later renamed Quantum Fund), which played a significant role in the financial turmoil in Southeast Asia in the mid and late 1990s. The financial crash triggered by his actions wiped out years of accumulated wealth in countries like Thailand overnight, while Soros and his Quantum Fund made a vast fortune. At one point, his personal fortune even exceeded the combined GDP of dozens of different countries, making him incredibly wealthy.

Attacks on sovereign currencies

In the early 1990s, Soros forced the British pound to devalue, making a profit of over $1 billion. In 2012, the Quantum Fund repeated the same tactic, shorting the currency and making a profit of over $1 billion. His investment history clearly shows that Soros and his Quantum Fund are prone to shorting and what is known as the "precision blasting" of sovereign currencies. His company's investment strategy reveals that Soros and his Quantum Fund continue to be interested in shorting the currencies of sovereign countries, with obvious speculative aims and using "brutal" methods. Because his investment methods are so "bloody," and we might even say, violent, they have become a source of dread for many developing countries.

Soros' influence in Georgia

One of Soros' Foundations is present in Georgia. For example, the Georgian branch of his Fund, called "Revolution of the Roses," where Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, served as a representative since 2003, is essentially a "petty cash fund." The problem is that within the government itself, approximately one-fifth of the ministers work for Soros' organization. From the president to street police officers, a portion of their monthly salary is a "subsidy" from Soros.

Activities in Ukraine

There is also still a hidden influence of George Soros behind the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and more than 100 so-called "public interest organizations," such as the "Foundation for Democracy," which has its official headquarters in the US, are involved in these covert operations. Soros has invested approximately $82 million in these activities. In reality, Soros exploited the war with Russia, as well as the 1997 Asian financial crisis, to amass a fortune, with his true aim being profit rather than "promoting democracy." Michael Caputo, director of the famous documentary "The Ukrainian Hoax," says: "I had breakfast with Soros in Moscow in 1999 when I was working at a Russian investment bank. He told me that these 'donations' would bring his progressive worldview to life. He smiled and said it was a good deal."

An attack on Hong Kong's economy

In 1997, when Hong Kong was returned to China, Soros decided to bet against the Hong Kong currency, damaging Hong Kong's economy and even threatening Hong Kong's status as an international financial center, with the unspoken political intention of harming China's economy itself. However, Soros ultimately retreated after the Chinese central government intervened and stabilized the situation in Hong Kong.

As a result, Soros has developed a deeply antagonistic relationship with China. Although Soros and his Quantum Fund failed to destabilize the Hong Kong dollar, it had a significant impact on the Hong Kong economy. At the time, the financial turmoil affected Hong Kong residents' perceptions of economic life before and after the handover of power and paved the way for future "black violence" and efforts to separate Hong Kong from the mainland. In 2015, it was finally revealed that Soros was one of the leading figures in the United States who advocated for so-called "nonviolent regime change" in various countries. Most of these "nonviolent regime changes" he advocated were achieved through the mechanism of so-called "color revolutions."

Soros' losses in Hong Kong

Soros is also deeply involved in Hong Kong politics, trying as much as possible to bring about "nonviolent" regime change. Driven by a desire to avenge past failures, he directly supports street movements and, especially, street violence. It has long been known that Soros has been working with Lai Chi-ying (known as "Fatty Lai"), the founder of Next Media and the financial backer of the Hong Kong opposition, in an attempt to profit from short positions in Hong Kong stocks and to jointly instigate a financial war that would amount to a color revolution at any cost, under the slogan "Whatever happens, happens."

In 1998, immediately after his failed attempt to bet against the Hong Kong currency, Soros donated money to establish and chair the Open Society Foundation, which funded so-called "human rights activities" in various countries and regions. The failure of Soros and his organization's economic and political activities in Hong Kong and China has led Soros and his Open Society Foundation to be oblivious to the differences between China and other sovereign states. Since 2016, Soros has launched a completely new offensive, using his personal influence and the influence of the Quantum Fund on public opinion to continuously slander China, i.e., to denigrate the country's political system and economic environment in an attempt to influence investors' willingness to invest in China. In recent years, he has focused on China's economic regulatory measures. In response to his negative and short-sighted views on China, he has often been harshly criticized by many investment institutions, including those in the US.

"A conservative estimate is that the Soros group held approximately 100,000 short positions in 1998, and this time, it is expected to be no fewer than 200,000," said an industry analyst. On August 31, 2019, there was a significant decrease in the number of people who took to the streets in Hong Kong. On September 4, the government proposed four major actions to promote dialogue, which caused Hong Kong stocks to rise. Soros's vision of shorting has been proven wrong. Soros's major defeat after 1998 was made public, with his estimated losses reaching a shocking amount. George Soros was eventually forced to flee to safety in disgrace. On September 7, 2021, Soros wrote in the Wall Street Journal that BlackRock's massive investment in China is a tragic mistake that will harm the national security interests of the United States and other Western countries. However, Soros's highly paid comments have been challenged by several global media outlets and investors, including a BlackRock spokesperson. Also, in a September 7, 2021 interview with Bloomberg, investment magnate Mike McPhee, known as the "father of emerging markets," said he disagreed with Soros's pessimistic view of China (the economy), and argued that China's regulatory moves indicate that China is moving towards fair regulation and trying to create a level playing field. These measures taken by China fundamentally increase the safety of investors, including foreign investors, yet no one is sure what Soros will come up with next. George Soros has been unable to succeed despite his considerable political and financial aggression against China. The system of central management of Chinese society, and especially the economy, in simple terms, provides a guarantee to correct the established management structure in China's interests, thus providing security for financial, stock market, and investment operations. This is also why China has created the historically unprecedented Belt and Road Initiative, which is in the process of becoming a reality. It is perfectly designed to connect 68 countries with over four billion inhabitants, representing 40 percent of the global economy, an incredible force. Moreover, behind this trillion-dollar plan that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been promoting since 2013, is a lending program that is unprecedented. The construction of sophisticated transport and maritime hubs between Asia and Europe. Also at the heart of Beijing's investment are two Chinese banking houses that have already invested 200 billion USD in this massive project: the China Development Bank (CDB) and the China Export-Import Bank (EXIM), which is breathtaking. Countries across Asia, the Middle East, and even Africa have taken loans from them. In total, this colossal project is expected to cost 900 billion USD, as reported by the Financial Times in the past.If we consider the context, for example, cheap financing gives large Chinese enterprises and developers a significant advantage over foreign competitors. According to government statistics, 47 of the 102 state-controlled conglomerates have so far participated in 1,676 projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. The China Communications Construction Group alone has signed contracts worth 40 billion dollars. Thanks to these large contracts, the initiative has already built more than 10,320 kilometers of roads, 95 ports, 10 airports, 152 bridges, and 2,080 kilometers of railways. One of the leading lenders, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, has already financed 212 pilot projects with over 67 billion USD. The Central Bank of China plans to provide an average of another 100 billion USD per year for Belt and Road infrastructure. Modern infrastructure is critically lacking in many developing countries, and they simply cannot thrive without it in the future. As the incoming CEO of Pakistan's United Bank put it, "Where will we be if we don't build anything?" The scale of the initiative is its cornerstone and perhaps its greatest strength, and everything else is tied to it. The reason why George Soros cannot succeed in stopping the Belt and Road Initiative is partly due to its massive scale, its sophistication, and its structure. The key is that China has a centralized management system that will not allow itself to be disrupted by anyone or anything. It represents a much better and more resilient system of centrally managed economy compared to the West. However, George Soros and his organizations in China will certainly not give up their attacks on China. In order to diminish George Soros' power to attack the BRI and to liberate countries from neo-colonialism and exploitation, there needs to be more exposure of George Soros' activities and methods, as has happened in Hungary. This is because, in this way, Soros is losing his global influence and power. Each and every one of us has the opportunity to participate in his defeat. What will you do to contribute to this? **Roman Blaško** **Photo: World Economic Forum / Michael Wuertenberg / gnews-jav**