Billionaire investor warns US, China 'on the brink of war'

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio, the founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater, warned after his recent trips to China that the United States and China are "on the brink of war and are beyond the ability to talk."

Dalio, who has an estimated net worth of $19.1 billion per Forbes, said last week that he has been traveling to China for nearly four decades, but his two trips to China lasting 13 days gave him a new perspective that he shared on his LinkedIn.

He wrote that his top revelation is: "The United States and China are on the brink of war and are beyond the ability to talk."

Dalio said the two nations are likely to become more aggressive towards each other over the next year and a half. 

"I want to emphasize that by saying that they are on the brink, I don’t mean to say that they will necessarily go over the brink," Dalio also said. "I mean to say that they are very close to crossing red lines that, if crossed, will irrevocably push them over the brink into some type of war that damages these two countries and causes damage to the world order in severe and irrevocable ways—like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did for Russia and the world, just much bigger."

He also said that his second biggest takeaway from his trip is that China and many other countries believe "that the United States is in decline, plagued with domestic issues."

Dalio said the third most important thing he learned is that China is far more controlling of its citizens and many Chinese citizens are considering leaving the country while they still can. 

His comments come as U.S. relations with China are particularly tense. The communist country is increasingly exerting its presence on the global stage, including by reportedly sending a fleet of spy balloons across five continents.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.