On the other side of the world, however, China is refusing to drink the U.S. Kool-Aid. It sees what's really happening with the greenback, and understands the implications for its own finances and economic growth.

That's why Beijing has taken matters into its own hands.

As Beijing breaks with the West, Western investors need to take notice – China is now a serious player on the global financial stage. It's only going to grow in power and stature.

And it has a powerful hand to play.

Wheeling and Dealing

Not only does the Red Dragon have a $2.3 trillion cache of reserves to work with, it also has the world's most powerful growth engine: An economy that's advancing at an 8% clip, 1.3 billion consumers who save an average of 35% of their incomes, and a government that's spending money in an effort to propel them into the 21st century.

What makes this especially poignant is that China understands its role – past, present and future. Most of its leaders are exceptionally well versed in Western history, meaning there's a profound understanding of the problems and potential obstacles the West faces as it attempts to bounce back from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. There's an irony here, since China may understand our problems even better than we do.

China's outlook and economic fate is no longer totally dependent on the United States and other Western counterparts. China knows that it has to take matters into its own hands if it is to avoid being dragged down and smothered by Western has-beens.
Beijing is doing just that.

What's more, China's leaders are taking a whole host of steps that will affect basically every asset class on the planet for years to come.
Some of these moves are subtle on their face, but will have a broad and lasting impact that investors need to see and understand. Others are as shrewd as they are aggressive.