The gloves are off. The world’s two largest economies are now in an open trade war.

We’re sitting squarely in the blast zone of what’s unfolding, and there’s no avoiding the consequences already hitting the tape.

On Tuesday, news broke that the US government informed Nvidia it would prohibit all future exports of its H20 chips to China, unless the company secures a special license, with no clear path to approval.

The immediate impact: a projected $5.5 billion charge and a 6% after-hours drop in the stock.

That same evening, Tesla halted plans to ship Cybercab and Semi parts from China.

The message from Washington is getting louder and blunter.

As Trump put it: “We may want countries to choose between us or China.”

Retaliation is accelerating… and soon, everyone will have to choose sides.

So what happens if China bans all Apple or Tesla products? How do we invest when volatility is no longer a bug, but a feature?

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While most investors are scrambling to keep up, my closest friends—sharp minds in economics, geopolitics, and strategy—have never been busier.

They’re tracking how tariffs ripple through global systems, mapping how capital may reposition, and where the real risks (and opportunities) are beginning to surface… thinking through scenarios and planning for what comes next.

They’ll be joining us in a few weeks at this year’s Strategic Investment Conference, where the theme, the global vibe shift, feels more relevant than ever.

We’ll hear directly from David Bahnsen and René Aninao as they break down what a Trump 2.0 economy looks like in the days ahead—from tax cuts to tariff shocks.

Lyric Hughes Hale and Carl Minzner will walk us through China’s internal pressures and how they’re already reshaping global diplomacy and trade.

And Marko Papic, alongside the anonymous strategist known as @ShanghaiMacro, and Matthew Pines, will help us rethink what we thought we knew about Beijing.

But beyond China, we’ll be talking about everything China touches: markets, supply chains, institutions, alliances, and how we ought to position ourselves through all of it.

Some are calling it a reset. Others, a reckoning. Either way, the global realignment is already underway.

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I’ve said before that each SIC is important in its own right. But this one feels different.

Not because of the trade war, tariffs, or a potential recession, but because of the convergence.

The timing. The speakers. The uncertainty we’re all wrestling with. You won’t agree with every speaker, and you’re not supposed to.

What matters is that one or two unexpected sessions will shift how you see things, and that one idea will help you protect your capital, avoid blind spots, or reposition yourself before the crowd catches on.

I’ve heard it again and again from past attendees:

The SIC gave me “a more complete view of what could happen, which made me a better investor.”
It “sets the tone for how I think about markets and investing for the next 12 months.”
And there’s “nowhere else in the world to access this level of collective wisdom.”

They’re right—and that’s exactly the point. In markets like this, it doesn’t take 10 great ideas. It takes one. Delivered with clarity.

That’s why, for many attendees, the SIC is more than an experience—it’s a resource they return to throughout the year, either by revisiting the recordings and transcripts or talking to each other in the investor forum.

I hope you join us this year—you’ll save 44% today. And as soon as you register, I’ll send you an email inviting you to our private investor forum… where the conversations are already starting.

However this year unfolds, we’ll be ready for it.

Your preparing for what’s ahead and staying hopeful analyst,

John Mauldin