The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 998 The Birth of the Euro
Happy time is always short-lived.

The five-day New Year’s Day holiday passed in a flash.

Liu Zhenbang and Chen Fang flew back to Beijing, Liu Jingming went to Hong Kong again, and Liu Yingqing went to Hong Kong to prepare for the 1999th Short Course Swimming World Championships in 4.

As a professional athlete, you always have to participate in various domestic and international competitions, not only to compete for honors, but also to maintain your form, make continuous breakthroughs, and make yourself stronger and faster!
比如在今年，刘颖卿在国内就要参加4月份的全国游泳冠军赛、9月份的全国城市运动会游泳比赛、10月份的全国游泳锦标赛，在国际上要参加1月份的第4届短池游泳世锦赛、世界大学生游泳比赛、泛太平洋游泳比赛。

Liu Qing'an and Liu Manhua, who are already 16 years old, also have to participate in some tennis matches. They have to participate in both men's and women's singles tennis matches, as well as men's and women's tennis matches.

The two youngest children, who are just 6 years old, are the most carefree and are still in kindergarten.

And unlike their older brothers and sisters who chose sports, the two youngest children were not interested in sports.

The first thing Liu Tao did when he got to work was to hold a meeting and start planning Panshan Group’s year-end party committee meeting.

This is one of the most important meetings of the entire Panshan Group throughout the year, and it cannot be overemphasized.

This involves the agenda, procedures, list of participants, etc. of the year-end party group meeting, and it is also necessary to consult other party group members whether they want to add topics.

After the meeting, Liu Tao browsed domestic and international news, which his secretary had already sorted out.

There was not much news domestically, but the biggest event internationally was the birth of the euro.

根据《马斯特里赫特条约》，欧洲单一货币——欧元，于1999年1月1日正式启动，并于1月4日正式交易。在当天的纽约和伦敦外汇市场上，欧元对美元的收市价分别达到1:1.1806和1:1.183。

China sent a message of congratulations on the birth of the euro, believing that the euro will become an important currency for international trade settlement and will play an important role in international trade.

Liu Tao began to deploy and short the euro.

The Balkan Peninsula, the 'powder keg of Europe', is becoming increasingly tense and is almost on the verge of exploding. The US CIA is stirring up trouble in the Balkan Peninsula.

If there is anyone in the world who is most reluctant to see the birth of the euro, it is the United States, because it will cause great harm to the US dollar.

Before the birth of the euro, the US dollar was the foreign exchange reserve currency of European countries and the settlement currency for international trade in Europe.

The United States reaps a wave of profits from Europe from time to time through the US dollar, and there is always a harvest each time, big or small.

But the birth of the euro is different. It will become the unified currency of Europe. The entire euro zone will use the euro, and the dependence on the US dollar will be greatly reduced.

Moreover, in international trade, the euro is bound to compete with the US dollar.

For example, when Africa trades with Europe, it will definitely choose the euro as the settlement currency.

At the same time, the euro will become a foreign exchange reserve option for many countries, which will further reduce their dependence on the US dollar.

It can be said that the United States regards the euro as a thorn in its side.

Liu Tao shook his head. If the United States did not take action against the euro, it would not be the United States. After World War II, the European powers were severely damaged, and the US dollar replaced the British pound and became the world's number one currency.

However, European countries have always wanted to become independent.

After all, the United States used to be a British colony, and its independence was achieved with the support of France. The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France when the United States gained independence as a symbol of friendship between the United States and France. The United States used to be a place of exile for criminals, and European countries looked down on the United States deep down.

Europe's geographical characteristics and religious background provide favorable conditions for European integration.

From the European Community to the European Union, this is an extremely important step forward in European integration.

With the establishment of the European Union, the next step will inevitably be to unify the currency. This is the general trend and everyone can see it.

Even if the euro zone does not include the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden and other countries, its total economic output is comparable to that of the United States, and it can integrate a huge market of 4 million people. The threat to the status of the US dollar is obvious.

The reason why the United States did not invest huge efforts in the turmoil in Southeast Asia is because military expenditures are limited and the United States' main focus is on Europe.

America’s most important overseas interests are not in Africa, Southeast Asia, or even the Middle East, but in Europe!
When the European Union was about to launch the unified currency, the euro, the United States was busy preparing to deal with the euro and had no time to take care of other things.

Whether it is a war of words with the polar bear, taking advantage of the Asian financial crisis when international hot money suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the polar bear, the United States accusing the polar bear of having an undemocratic and unfree stock and foreign exchange market, or a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine entering the Black Sea region and provoking the polar bear's sensitive nerves, causing the polar bear's Tu-160 strategic bomber to patrol over Europe, the fundamental purpose is to target the euro.

The Balkan Peninsula is a strategic location connecting Asia and Europe. Controlling this place is equivalent to controlling the throat between Europe and West Asia. It can directly connect to West Asia by land, and control the Mediterranean and Black Sea by water. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. For this reason, the ethnic groups here are often ruled by different countries and have different beliefs and cultural traditions.

After World War II, because of Tito, the tough guy who came from nowhere, Yugoslavia was strong enough, so Europe and the United States naturally had no chance. At the same time, they had to win over Yugoslavia to prevent it from turning to the Soviet Union.

After Tito's death, no one in Yugoslavia could gain the trust of all ethnic groups at the same time. In just over a decade, the various republics of Yugoslavia became independent sovereign states, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was much weaker than the previous Yugoslavia.

However, there are obvious contradictions within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

This gave the Americans an opportunity, and the CIA began to stir up trouble in this area.

Before this, European integration was actually in full swing. The EU had thought about removing the thorn of Yugoslavia as soon as possible and had repeatedly asked the United States to send troops, but the United States was able to vent its anger and had repeatedly rejected NATO's combat plans.

What is the purpose?
It is nothing more than waiting until the euro is born and using this opportunity to attack the euro!
Capital will always flow to safer places, this is the law!

No capital is willing to stay in a turbulent place because it is too unsafe!

It is an obvious truth that as long as war breaks out in the Balkans, European capital will inevitably flow to the United States.

Liu Tao couldn't help but admire the Americans' talent in this area. The United States and Britain are indeed of the same origin. Both have the talent of being trouble stirrers. In terms of being a trouble stirrer, the United States is almost catching up with Britain.

Although Liu Tao felt that Americans were actually far worse than the British in governing the world, the system left over from the British Empire era was actually still okay in many countries, but the Americans were not so good. If the American system was adopted, nine out of ten countries would most likely end up in chaos and frequent wars.

But Liu Tao still admires Americans' talent for being troublemakers.

(End of this chapter)