A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 284: The Invisible Hand (19)
Zhongnanhai, China.
At the pinnacle of national power, the Standing Committee had been convened. There was only one item on today’s agenda:
How the ‘AI Nationalism’ surging in the U.S. presidential election would affect China.
“Here is the current situation in the United States.”
The screen in the center of the conference room lit up. Soon, a live feed from a Trenton campaign rally began playing.
— Make America Great Again!
— America First!
Thousands of people chanted in unison. So far, a familiar scene they’d seen many times before. But then, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.
— Boo! Boo!
— Get out! Go back to your country!!!
As boos and curses rained down, a massive balloon shaped like a dark cloud rose in the middle of the rally. Bold letters stretched across it: <MADE IN CHINA>
Moments later, Trenton strode onto the stage, holding a golden trident.
— Are you going to let that storm cloud darken American skies?
— NO!!! NEVER!!
Trenton soaked in the crowd’s roars, then raised the trident high and stabbed the balloon.
Pop!
The balloon burst. And then... the debris gave way to a new balloon—this time, shaped like a pure white cloud. On it, bold words read:
<AI: MADE IN USA!>
— USA! USA!
— Make America Great Again!!!
The crowd’s cheers and energy soared once more as Trenton raised both arms triumphantly.
— You saw it for yourselves! China is finished! What remains are true American-made products!
— China always imitates, copies, and steals. And now? They’re even trying to buy out our companies! But! We’re not giving up a single thing anymore!
— Our AI, our Next AI, our Sean—everything is MADE IN USA! From now on, not a single step will be taken outside of this country!
Pop!
The screen went black.
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence lingered in the chamber. Then, murmurs began rippling through the room.
“Sean isn’t exactly ‘Made in USA,’ is he…?”
“And technically, Next AI isn’t really a ‘company’ either.”
Trenton’s speech, like many of his public addresses, was riddled with small errors—a symptom of his disregard for fact-checking. That a presidential candidate would make such inaccurate statements in public was astonishing enough.
But what was even more bewildering was…
“That we’re trying to steal Sean… us?”
The idea was wildly detached from reality. China had zero interest in acquiring Sean. In fact, the opposite was true.
“We haven’t even lifted his entry ban yet…”
As of now, Sean was banned from even stepping onto Chinese soil. Publicly, this was interpreted as retaliation for the yuan currency war. Those who knew better assumed it was a cover for secret dealings with him. But neither explanation was true.
“Avoiding entanglement with that man is the safest course.”
Sean was an unpredictable figure. If he ever set foot in China, there was no telling what might happen. Thus, the entry ban was their best measure to prevent any unpredictable fallout.
Yet despite China’s efforts to draw a clear line and keep its distance—the world now believed they were trying to “steal” Sean?
“I’m sorry. I had no idea a simple lunch meeting would spiral into this…”
The apology came from the Chair of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission. When Sean had requested a meeting with China’s ambassador, the ambassador had consulted the Chair for permission. Assuming nothing significant would happen over one meal, the Chair had given the go-ahead.
“It was just one lunch. Thousands of kilometers away in New York, no less. How much trouble could it possibly cause…?”
But now…
“I never imagined it would escalate like this…”
That moment of carelessness had triggered this diplomatic debacle.
“Do you not understand what ‘do not get involved’ means?”
“If we were dealing with someone reasonable, there’d have been no need for such drastic measures in the first place!”
Blame and frustration erupted across the room—until one voice cut through, calm and firm:
“There’s no undoing what’s already been done. We need to focus on next steps.”
What was past couldn’t be changed. It was time to focus on damage control.
“First of all, resolving this misunderstanding through dialogue is impossible.”
In fact, China had already issued an official statement as soon as the rumors about trying to acquire Next AI surfaced…
— China has no plans to acquire any U.S. AI companies or institutions. The recent meeting with Mr. Ha Siheon is entirely unrelated.
But the statement had no effect.
— When has China ever admitted, “We stole that”? Have we ever once said, “Yes, we stole your jobs”? Never!
No matter what was said, no one believed them. And from China’s perspective, that was deeply frustrating. They may have had many goals—but one thing was clear: They truly had no interest in getting close to Ha Siheon.
Worse still—that wasn’t the end of the problem.
“Small incidents like this fade with time. The real issue... is our announcement.”
He was referring to a long-prepared strategic move:
— The Next-Gen National AI Strategy Plan.
For once, China wasn’t playing catch-up. They aimed to leap ahead in innovation and become a global tech superpower. Their vision was to make China the global AI hub by 2035. This had nothing to do with Ha Siheon—it had been in the works for years.
But…
“Can we afford to announce it now, in this climate?”
“……”
“……”
Tensions in the U.S. were already at a peak, with widespread suspicion that “China is trying to steal our AI.” To go public with a grand “AI ambition” now? It would only look like a direct declaration of tech warfare.
“It’s wiser to wait for the frenzy to subside. If we act now… it will be seen as China entering the race for global dominance.”
China had spent years quietly building power. This wasn’t yet the moment to make bold moves.
“And if—by any chance—Trenton actually wins, he could impose real sanctions against us, not just harsh words.”
That could mean export controls, investment bans, or tech access restrictions—threatening the Communist Party’s ambitious plan to dominate future technologies.
But just then—
“No. In moments like this, we must move faster.”
A surprising rebuttal.
“America’s paranoia will only worsen over time. So will their efforts to contain us. It’s better to act before real restrictions are in place.”
Debate followed.
“Then we’ll just deepen the confrontation!”
“And what? Sitting still will make relations friendlier?”
“That’s not what I meant—”
“We’re already being treated as the enemy, regardless of what we do. It’s to our advantage to move before the crackdown begins.”
Voices clashed, tension mounting. But only one person had the final say.
China’s supreme leader—silent until now—finally spoke:
“Accelerate the plan.”
Shortly after, China issued the following announcement:
[As part of its national strategy, the People’s Republic of China will fully implement its Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan. By 2030, China aims to become a leading global hub of AI innovation...]
This was effectively a public declaration of its intent to join the AI arms race. The plan mirrored those of other developed nations: Massive investment in emerging tech, infrastructure development, AI across industries, talent pipelines.
But one element stood out—something only China dared to pursue:
[An AI quota system will be introduced across all sectors—including industry, finance, and services—gradually increasing tech adoption from early stages...]
The so-called “quota system”, or “mandated allocation”, would require AI integration in all major industries, including state-owned enterprises—by law.
This policy directly addressed one of the greatest challenges in AI technology. Even if the technology is fully developed, what happens if companies reject it and it isn’t adopted in actual business operations? No matter how innovative it may be, if it isn’t implemented, it will ultimately be shelved and forgotten.
Through this policy, however, China publicly declared that it would aggressively push forward AI implementation policies, even if it meant doing so under government direction and through somewhat coercive measures. It was something only China could do.
The global media responded immediately:
<China declares leap to AI superpower... Inevitable tech rivalry with the U.S.>
<China aims to be the world’s No. 1 AI powerhouse by 2030>
<“All-out AI war” — China introduces quota system... Signals tech cold war with the U.S.>
The U.S. didn’t remain silent. Although it had little justification to directly interfere with China’s internal AI development... it criticized the move indirectly:
— State-led, uniform technology adoption risks clashing with shared global values like market autonomy, creative innovation, and respect for human rights.
Effectively, this was a condemnation of China’s AI quota system as a uniquely authoritarian form of control. But this was the opinion of a lame-duck White House.
In contrast, the major presidential candidates voiced starkly different opinions.
Clayton, for example, responded cautiously, aligning with the White House narrative…
— Look at this! They’ve finally revealed their true colors! We cannot allow China to steal our core technologies! We must implement a complete export ban on AI!
Trenton, meanwhile, raised his voice:
— Not a single piece of American AI technology should be handed over to China!
Then, in the midst of all this—an astonishing development occurred:
<Trenton elected 47th President of the United States…>
Despite all his extreme rhetoric, Trenton won the presidential election! The decisive factor was the FBI’s reopening of an investigation just days before the vote—the so-called email scandal. It was revealed that Clayton had used a personal email server rather than the official government system for handling official matters. This posed a serious risk of leaking national secrets.
Although the FBI concluded two days before the election that “there was no criminal wrongdoing,” Clayton’s public image had already suffered irreparable damage.
Thanks to that, the ultimate victory went to Trenton. And the moment his win was confirmed, he declared firmly:
— The moment I take office, I will block China’s AI ambitions!
By January, the U.S. was set to enter a full-blown sanctions phase—and China had no choice but to move quickly.
[China’s current actions are not driven by hegemonic ambition. With the U.S. tightening its technological exclusionism, we have no choice but to pursue independent technological development.]
China rebuffed the criticism, accusing the U.S. of being the true promoter of exclusionism, and followed up with this:
[AI is a technology for the shared future of humanity. We hope to work hand-in-hand with countries around the world to advance the development of artificial intelligence.]
They began seeking international partnerships. Across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, China extended its hand in cooperation.
However...
The nations that received these offers were hesitant. AI hinges on the reliability and protection of data—and in this regard, China wasn’t seen as an ideal partner. Moreover, in the current sensitive political climate, aligning with China could be perceived as a provocation to the U.S.
Yet... It was hard to decline outright.
‘...It’s just too much money.’
China announced the creation of a “Future of Humanity AI Fund,” and pledged a staggering investment of over 10 trillion yuan.
That wasn’t all. They also hinted that partner nations could be designated as “official suppliers” within China—which meant access to China’s vast AI market.
<Singapore signs AI Data Hub MOU with China>
<China-Russia announce joint AI cooperation>
<Saudi Arabia officially joins AI Future Fund>
Governments around the world began to move in response to these overwhelmingly attractive offers.
And Trenton’s reaction to all this was…
— We must block the export of core AI equipment and components! Not just to China, but to any country that cooperates with China!
This was an even broader move of retaliation and containment. But China didn’t back down either.
— Should any act infringe upon our legitimate national interests, we will consider appropriate countermeasures, including restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and other related resources.
If the U.S. blocks AI, China will limit its rare earth supply. A trade war was looming.
In response, a new frenzy began to stir beneath the surface.
“We have to buy now!”
A full-blown panic-buying spree was underway. To secure GPUs, China was even willing to pay a premium and swept up all available stock. Other countries and corporations also scrambled to place massive orders ahead of impending regulations.
This buying surge significantly boosted corporate earnings:
<AI graphic cards “sold out early”... NVIDIA forecasts record quarterly revenue>
<AMD reports “AI chip orders skyrocketing... plants running 24/7”>
Stock prices reacted just as enthusiastically. AI stocks, long plagued by concerns of a bubble, soared day after day. NVIDIA, which had started the year at $32, now broke past $105. Other AI companies also saw steep increases—rising between 200% and 400%.
Those who had sold early, convinced the market was at its peak, now regretted deeply.
— Where’s that guy who said this was a bubble?
— I moved my retirement funds to “safe assets” and now it looks like I’ll be retiring at 97.
— I thought it was a bubble, but turns out it’s a bubble made of mithril…
— Can this even pop at this point...?
— No way. It’s become a matter of national pride now.
— China vs. U.S... They’re basically in the world’s most expensive slap fight right now.
Meanwhile, watching all of this unfold, Ha Siheon nodded with satisfaction. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
“Is this enough?”
Speeding up AI development was important—but just as crucial was making sure “the system ran by itself.”
And now? AI had become the centerpiece of the U.S.-China tech supremacy battle. Both nations, driven by pride, were now pouring in massive investments on their own.
“It’s going even smoother than I planned.”
China had not only advanced its 2017 AI roadmap by several years, but even implemented a quota system—something unthinkable in his previous life.
There was only one unexpected side effect...
“I’ve become too conspicuous.”
In fanning the flames between China and the U.S., Ha Siheon had become a prized asset both countries wanted.
Worse still, during the U.S. election campaign, a performance dubbed “Protect Sean” had firmly solidified that image. Now, even just stepping outside...
“Sean! We’ll protect you no matter what!”
“You’re a national treasure!”
Comments like this had become a daily occurrence. So many eccentric followers clung to him now that he had to increase his security team to five guards.
“My movements are way too restricted these days...”
Just today, he had wanted to dine at a favorite restaurant—but considering the possible commotion, he had to settle for takeout instead.
Then, as he was waiting for his order…
Ding!
A message came in. The sender? None other than White Shark.
<I hear the results will be announced this Friday.>
It was a message from White Shark. And the “results” referred to none other than the Triangle Club admissions.
“Ah... right, there was that too.”
Although his main goal behind all these grand schemes was to develop a cure, the Triangle Club entrance exam had been progressing in parallel. It had been so far from his mind, he’d nearly forgotten…
“Well, shall I head over for now?”
