Note: Most people will find this article difficult to follow — the details run deep.
First, my apologies to everyone for going several days without writing. I’ve missed you all.
The reason is a bit absurd: four days ago, I woke up, sneezed, and wrenched my neck in an instant.
And so, for the past several days, my entire head has been completely locked in place — held up proudly, unable to turn left or right, let alone look down. Ha.
Finally, today things are slowly improving. I can pick up my pen again and share all the thoughts I’ve been sitting on.
Same as always — no rambling. Rather than a long-winded essay, let me get straight to the points, one by one:
1. Everything below can be read in order or in reverse — either way works. But at the macro level, we have genuinely endured our way into a winning position. What comes next is watching how the new world order reshapes itself.
Always remember: for small matters, trace the tangled web of cause and effect. But for great matters, focus only on the core objective at each key node.
The way a mediocre reader and a master reader interpret what follows will be on entirely different levels. The mediocre reader will be lost in the fog. The master reader will smile knowingly.
2. Just yesterday, the Blue side’s chairman made an unmistakably clear statement: Red-Blue relations will thaw very soon.
Of course, no one is naive enough to drop their guard based on a single statement. But the fact that these words were deliberately placed on the table at this particular stage — combined with the recent situation of our northern neighbor — a new chapter is definitely about to unfold, and soon.
3. I’ve said before that the best outcome we can hope for at this stage is for both sides to reach a complete consensus on a “new dual-power world” framework. And apparently, after years of trying every trick imaginable, the Blue side has finally come to understand that containing us is simply beyond their capabilities.
They can create obstacles, yes — but only to slow our pace, not to truly stop us.
This year, they have finally woken up entirely.
4. History is both the most brutal and the most rational teacher, and the most important lesson history has ever taught us is this: the prerequisite for any successful negotiation is that your own fist must be hard enough.
This maps perfectly — almost magically — onto every major player at this moment in time. And each of them has demonstrated it in their own way.
5. If every great power has its own strategic style, then the Eagle is a grandmaster at chess, the Bear is a master of Texas Hold’em, and we are masters of Go.
6. As for what’s in your pocket — personally, I wouldn’t worry too much. Entering a new phase of major development is really just a matter of time now.
Nothing else matters. Forget the rumors and hearsay — nothing is more telling than the exchange rate. We are the world’s factory. In plain language, the current exchange rate says: sincere cooperation, moderate concession.
7. The reason so many people never make real money, yet can’t handle even small affairs well, is that they never look beyond their own backyard. They lack genuine big-picture thinking.
Big-picture thinking doesn’t mean sitting in a neighborhood gazebo with a group of retirees, casually discussing world affairs.
Big-picture thinking is profoundly practical. Grasp it even slightly, and you can apply it to your life immediately. It’s a barometer for major life investments. It’s a compass pointing you toward where you should be working in the years ahead.
If — and I mean if — all of the above unfolds in sequence, then what I’m about to say becomes the guiding framework for our next phase of striving:
I didn’t expect it to happen this fast. Our automotive, new energy, and electronics industries have exploded with such force that trade exhibitions in these sectors now reliably leave foreign visitors feeling deflated, one event at a time.
Great-nation-level commerce always follows the same rhythm: rough exploration → technical improvement → relentless refinement → brand breakthrough. Our real economy has not disappointed. Starting this year, it has collectively erupted.
So when judging whether a city will thrive in the years ahead, the metric for the next decade is “commercial technological depth.”
And the cities that genuinely possess that depth in their bones? No matter how I count, it always comes back to the same 4+7 cities I keep mentioning.
Only these cities offer what actually matters: a future, wealth, opportunity, social resources, quality healthcare and education. Every other city is simply… making do.
8. Overall, my personal view is that this year still calls for steady, measured moves.
It’s like knowing that spring is coming — even so, the current climate isn’t right for going all in just yet. So wait a little longer.
And don’t feel bad about it. My friends span every corner of the world, every major region and country. The consensus this year is unanimous: nowhere abroad is particularly comfortable. Prices are surging everywhere. Life is tough all around.
That’s normal. Once the new order is established — once the other side stops stirring trouble, once they objectively acknowledge our strength and learn to genuinely respect us — a new chapter begins.
9. After finishing this piece, I won’t be writing about macro affairs for a while. There’s not much reason to.
Because until the new chapter takes definitive shape, everything that looks red-hot on the surface is really just “an extensive exchange of views” — not a final decision anyone has actually signed off on.
Starting from my next piece, I’ll return to the topic of personal cultivation (修行).