The internet is in a total meltdown over the latest April 2026 cover of The Economist, which features a high-definition, smiling Xi Jinping watching a blurred, shouting Donald Trump in the background.
The headline uses a legendary quote from Napoleon Bonaparte that is sending shockwaves through DC: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
The controversial imagery perfectly captures the global mood as the Third Gulf War enters a dangerous new phase. While President Trump doubles down on his "Take the Oil" strategy, moving over 10,000 elite troops into the Middle East to seize Iranian energy hubs, China is playing a much quieter, deadlier game.
According to the magazine’s deep-dive report, Beijing is reportedly thrilled to stay on the sidelines while the U.S. drains its treasury and overextends its military in what critics are calling a massive strategic blunder. By letting the U.S. get bogged down in a prolonged land war with Iran, China is effectively watching its biggest rival walk into a resource trap.
The most "spicy" part of the report involves a secret new "tollbooth" in the Strait of Hormuz. Insiders and maritime data firms confirm that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is now charging ships a massive toll to pass through the waterway.
The kicker? They are reportedly demanding payment in Chinese Yuan or stablecoins, completely bypassing the U.S. dollar.
Some reports indicate the "toll" for supertankers is starting at around $1 per barrel, which adds up to a staggering $2 million for a single ship carrying two million barrels of oil. This move is being seen as a coordinated effort to dismantle the petrodollar and elevate the Yuan as the new global reserve currency for energy.
As gas prices in the U.S. scream past $4 a gallon and consumer confidence craters, the "smiling Xi" cover suggests that while Trump is fighting with missiles, China is winning with math.
The administration maintains that the war will end in "two to three weeks," but the world is beginning to wonder if the real winner has already been decided in Beijing.
With the April 6 deadline for a peace deal fast approaching, the pressure is on the White House to prove that this isn't the "trap" The Economist claims it is.