The election is going to dominate the news cycle for quite some time. We’ll be hearing about the chaos surrounding it and the analysis that will come after it’s all decided for the rest of the year.
It makes sense. It’s the biggest story in a year full of big stories. It’s a historic event playing out in real-time.
But as you follow ongoing developments, other important stories are going to fall by the wayside.
There’s one story, in particular, playing out right now that’s going to be an issue no matter who wins.
China Would Like to Know Your Location
It can be said that nothing is truly secret in the age of social media. The companies behind the different platforms gather data about every bit of information users put out there. What they do with that data is an ongoing discussion. What many don’t think about, however, is that it’s not just giant companies that are doing this.
It was recently discovered that China has a system called the Overseas Key Individuals Database. It’s a database that includes details on the personal information of people in the nuclear industry and other key areas of society.
The idea behind the database is that, in the eyes of China’s government, everyone is considered an enemy unless they are proven to be a friend. The company behind it, Shenzhen Zhenhua Data Technology, has stated that it wants to provide intelligence to China’s military as well as the government and commercial clients. This can give them insight into the lives of key business figures and scientific researchers. Likewise, the data can be used to locate things like ships and facilities by parsing public social media posts that have location data.
This is just one part of China’s ongoing plan to become more dominant on the world stage. Even so, it shows just what the country is willing to do to reach that goal. While the existence of this database is only just now becoming public knowledge, China certainly isn’t the only country doing it.
Every developed nation on the planet probably has some version of this. It just goes to show that the 21st-century technology arms race is largely going underreported. Surveillance, misinformation campaigns, social media influence, and digital propaganda are just some of the modern weapons of war. World leaders, whether they lean left or right, are going to have to grapple with this in the coming years. Likewise, the public at large is going to grow more aware of stories like this as they become harder to ignore.
Never Knowing, but Always Being Prepared
It’s impossible to know just what the future holds. It isn’t impossible to be prepared for future developments.
Here at Outsider Club, we’ve long talked about the importance of ignoring what mainstream media says. Instead, you want to look at the wider picture. Doing that allows you to see trends forming and do a better job of guessing just what is most likely to happen.
With the Cold War that’s already going on between companies in China and the U.S., that means looking at areas like the defense industry.
As we’ve said many times in the past, defense stocks have done extremely well under the Trump administration. China’s growing aggression makes it believable that companies like Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) will continue doing well. It won’t matter whether Trump gets another four years or gets replaced by Biden.
The same could be said for companies that work with the military or government to provide IT services. China’s government-backed hackers are constantly trying to infiltrate the networks of other countries, and someone has to be there to stop them.
While these are just two areas to keep an eye on, they are two of the most essential. Over the next decade, we’re going to see an emboldened China enact its plans all over the world. There will be opportunities for companies to capitalize on that.
Stay tuned to these pages to learn how you can get in on those same opportunities.
