China: We hate you, but we hate everyone else more
posted at 10:15 am on February 14, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
In the current financial crisis, many people wonder how much longer China will buy American debt, or whether they will start dumping it and create an even deeper crisis for Washington. China apparently answered that question earlier this week in its assessment of its options — which is to say, none. Like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, they’ve got nowhere else to go:
China will continue to buy US Treasury bonds even though it knows the dollar will depreciate because such investments remain its “only option” in a perilous world, a senior Chinese banking regulator said on Wednesday.
China has used the dollars it accumulates selling manufactured goods to US consumers to accumulate the world’s largest holding of Treasuries. …
Mr Luo, speaking at the Global Association of Risk Management’s 10th Annual Risk Management Convention, said: “Except for US Treasuries, what can you hold?” he asked. “Gold? You don’t hold Japanese government bonds or UK bonds. US Treasuries are the safe haven. For everyone, including China, it is the only option.”
Hey, in a world filled with anti-Americanism, that’s refreshing. At least someone loves us. Or … maybe not:
Mr Luo, whose English tends toward the colloquial, added: “We hate you guys. Once you start issuing $1 trillion-$2 trillion [$1,000bn-$2,000bn] . . .we know the dollar is going to depreciate, so we hate you guys but there is nothing much we can do.”
The colloquial, huh? Happy Valentine’s Day to you too, Luo.
China still could dump US debt, but they’d lose their shirts, and nothing else in the market looks better. Beijing has become a little too capitalist to pull a cut-off-the-nose-to-spite-the-face ploy with its main assets. They need the stability to stay in power. Right now, that means they need to ensure that US debt doesn’t tank.
Feel any better? It’s like having your spouse tell you that she can’t stand you, but she’s sticking around for her half of the retirement accounts, which would get destroyed in a divorce. You feel marginally better, but you sleep with one eye open, just in case she turns into Lorena Bobbitt.
Blowback
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Disturb the Universe on February 14, 2009 at 10:19 AM
The Chinese have a thing for saving face. They take care not to say something to make others lose face. This shows considerable frustration for him to say this in such a public manner.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:20 AM
It also shows a considerable amount of contempt. (is there such thing as a Reagan-ChiCom)
thomasaur on February 14, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Why would they prefer US Treasuries over gold?
imshocked on February 14, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Decreased demand for their products as American consumers gird their personal budget loins, with the domino effect on Chinese manufacturing unemployment also means they will have less with which to buy T-bills and some domestic unrest. We need more printing presses.
a capella on February 14, 2009 at 10:26 AM
That’s my point. The rhetoric would never have risen to that level if they weren’t really pissed. The question is this: Are they pissed because of our economic policies that are devaluing their investments in our dollar? They don’t want to own us, they want us to trade with them.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:29 AM
They won’t like that anymore than we do. Inflation devalues their investments in the same way it devalues our personal income.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Well that might me interest rates don’t go through the roof and make things much worse, so the Chinese are not being stupid here. They know they are dependent on the United States being a market for them.
Mr. Joe on February 14, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Yep. the one saving grace in this mess, is that we take everyone else down with us.
I think the Euro has peaked, I also expect that some of it strength was artificial. Let’s face it, these are the days of manipulating markets on a massive scale.
Besides, if China does dump our debt and sends us into a massive depression, they will also lose the manufacturing sales they depend on. Catch-22.
Plus if they did that, I might head to LA for an LA Tea Party and dump containers from China into the harbor.
reaganaut on February 14, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Sounds like the same thing the average American is doing. Our currency is in danger, yet nearly everyone (not me) still hold their savings in US dollar-denominated assets.
Also, don’t believe what they say. If you wanted to unload Treasuries, or otherwise lessen your dollar reserves, and you were perhaps the largest holder, would you announce your move?
Can they hold all their reserves in Gold. No. How would they accumulate it all without driving the price insane?
My bet, and I’m not alone, is that they’ll plan on a new currency , or make the Yuan fully convertable at some point, backed at least partially by gold. At this point, why should they be willing to see the value of their reserves debased because the US, as the world’s reserve currency, seems to be able to print unlimited amounts of paper. I should say it’s we who are sticking it to them.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:33 AM
-
Remember what Rosie said. Ka-ching is king.
RalphyBoy on February 14, 2009 at 10:33 AM
If they bought gold now, it would destroy the dollar which they already own tons of. They can’t and won’t cut their own throats.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Because gold is at historic highs (not many paths to take but down at this point) and can get extremely volatile very quickly.
Remember these people dont play the Ron Paul economy right out of the 1880s…they play big boy games with real money.
ernesto on February 14, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Because gold doesn’t have the liquidity to handle the amount of money they need to put away, it doesn’t have the stability of US debt, and it won’t help them manipulate their currency so they can continue to sell cheap exports.
blue13326 on February 14, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Besides… You can’t print gold.
RalphyBoy on February 14, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Some of the S. European economies which are currently on the Euro might revert back to their old currencies if this crisis continues. While the ECB is lowering rates ,it hasn’t been fast enough for their tastes, and they may decide that printing their own paper and creating make-work jobs like we’re doing here is best–and like us, they’ll worry about inflation later.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:36 AM
I believe that’s exactly why they’re angry. They strapped their economy to the dollar. They are a nation of producers and need someone to consume their products. Remember when the U.S. was a nation of producers and propped up the global economy?
thomasaur on February 14, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Ah, that is exactly what we now do. We print our money, which once was as good as gold, as if it still was. That’s the trick we’ve been playing. Why should China, or any country, allow us to do that. They could do it too.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:38 AM
China is a key player in our economy. It may pain some conservatives to realize, but they serve as a check on the socialist plans of the Obama administration in terms of protectionism. Already they have been central in the “buy America” part of the stimulus package.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Besides, it may not seem that way, but the US economy is actually performing well relative to other places, because most economies are dependent in one way or another on US demand. Germany’s GDP, for example, is contracting at twice the rate of ours, and the Asian economies are literally in freefall. Of course, once our enormous debt payments start to kick in from all the new debt we’re piling on that’s likely to change…
blue13326 on February 14, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Yes, but they do still have a massively underserved home market at home, and in other parts of Asia. I’m not saying we’re not important to us, and their growth suffers surely as we slow, but the handwriting is on the wall. They do have other markets to open.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:39 AM
btw,did you know it was left into the final plan? Yep. There is some wiggle-room though. The Pres. can say the rule can be violated if it’s in our “best interest.” Nevertheless, Dodd has caused great anger amongst our trading partners. I’m sure the G-7 will talk about it today.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:42 AM
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Besides… You can’t print gold.
RalphyBoy on February 14, 2009
Nice!
artist on February 14, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Love to see them try to buy a trillion dollars worth of gold. What would that do to the market? How would their unemployed feel about it?
On the other hand, they could just demand the keys to Ft Knox.
sleepyhead on February 14, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Isn’t this all just a big house of cards? I don’t claim to possess a great deal of understanding on this subject, but common sense would dictate, with a dollar backed by nothing but the confidence of the people buying and exchanging it, all it would really take is for a large number of people (or a handful with a lot of power colluding together for nefarious purposes) to lose their confidence really quickly and we’d have total collapse, wouldn’t we? It’s economic brinksmanship.
NoLeftTurn on February 14, 2009 at 10:43 AM
I was being sarcastic. There is no easy fix and a long, painful road ahead.
a capella on February 14, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Sigh…time to apply for that visa JiangxiDad. That is the stupidest thing I can imagine. There goes my blood pressure again.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Just like the Gov’t now tells CEO’s what to do, how much to get paid, and when to take a crap, because the companies are creditors of the US, China can whisper in our leaders’ ears. They’re our creditors, and to one extent or another, we must do what they say.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:45 AM
sorry. meant to say the US is creditor to the companies.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Oh please, please China, keep loaning us money so we can someday pay of this massive debt the stupid Democrats are using to crush our will and our individualism. After all . . . we’re socialists just like you.
rplat on February 14, 2009 at 10:46 AM
And the guys who need to placate 1. however many billion Chinese understand that. Unfortunately, our “leaders” don’t seem to get it.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:46 AM
I wounder what China will get in trade to secure and not destabilize Obamas reelection.
They got some leverage now.
the_nile on February 14, 2009 at 10:46 AM
They are buying gold as well, there were actual shortages worldwide at the end of last year.
I’m not a gold expert, but it takes time.
Last year China had low gold reserves compared to the US. They had roughly 70% of their reserves in US treasuries. Estimates put their gold reserves at 1.3%. Of course they could have 5 times that, but still, it’s low compared to other countries. We have about 8,000 tonnes, they have 600 tonnes. They have a long way to go.
The more China buys to increase it’s stock, the more the price of gold shoots up, so the more they have to pay. The US has massive gold reserves (241 billion), so I’m guessing if the Chinese go on a gold buying spree that will increase the value of our reserves tremendously.
reaganaut on February 14, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Frankly, that’s the last thing they want. They need us to be rampant capitalists for another couple of decades.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:48 AM
We’ve been flirting with that for a long time. It’s just recently become clear to many people. Confidence in financial institutions and governmental leaders is the fulcrum upon which everything teeters at present.
a capella on February 14, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Everyone talks about Smoot-Hawley, and how it exacerbated economic conditions and made the depression worse. They think by pointing that out, we avoid making the same mistake. That looks easy to do from a position of prosperity. But Smoot-Hawley was a race to the lifeboats on a sinking ship. Well, if people today think the ship is similarly sinking, they’re gonna race to the lifeboats as well. People don’t change. There’s nothing new under the sun. In bad times, bad things will happen.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:50 AM
Join the club Chinaman. I hate us too, for the same reason!
conservnut on February 14, 2009 at 10:50 AM
I have often wondered why gold in a modern world is valuable. It can’t be eaten and it will not power an internal combustion engine. It is also lousy fertilizer. If there is a catastrophic collapse in our future, a bushel of wheat will be worth its weight in
goldgasoline or 9mm ammunition.Pelayo on February 14, 2009 at 10:51 AM
I totally agree. For me, the blessing in disguise is the fact that China does own so much of our debt and has the ability and desire to hold Obama in check in some ways.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:52 AM
It would take decades to buy that much. Only about 12 billion in gold is produced every year.
Between the US and the EU, we’re looking at close to 20,000 tonnes of gold. That’s around 5-600 billion. I doubt they will be selling off massive quantities to China anytime soon.
reaganaut on February 14, 2009 at 10:53 AM
genso,
It depends what you mean by ‘anymore’ and ‘big’. Europe as a whole is still far more important than any of the countries you cite. The EU is the single largest economy in the world and for example, China’s biggest market. And if you go back a year or so, the policies of the ECB had a good deal to do with the current crisis: by refusing to cut interest rates along with the Fed, they caused the dollar to fall hard, which caused commodity prices to spike, which gave us $140/b oil; which exacerbated the crisis. And keeping their interests rate relatively high, obviously hit their economies at the same time we were entering recession. If Europe were willing to engage in pro-growth policies it would do a lot to help the crisis.
blue13326 on February 14, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Do you have some sense of the amount of gold reserves by country, relative to the amount of their currency in circulation? Would be interesting to see that, and how that would change given the projected trillions we’re about to create.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Good point. Many investors in metals prefer other metals that have industrial values like platinum.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:55 AM
The expectation from today’s WSJ is that the ECB will soon have rates at .5%. It still may be too late for the Spain’s of the EU.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:56 AM
This recession has changed the playing field. Europe is rotting from within, politically, socially, and economically. The countries I cite are the emerging economies that will lead the world out of this crap.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 10:58 AM
JiangxiDad,
It may be the only hope for the Spains of the EU is to exit the euro and go back to the old policy of debasing their local currencies.
European banks are sitting on even more toxic debt that ours, and they don’t seem to have the mechanisms to do much about it. That may be the next crisis to hit.
blue13326 on February 14, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Irony of ironies. The commies holding the capitalists in check, on their race to become socialists. Is this still earth?
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Exactly. It’s what we’re doing :)
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 11:04 AM
The end is nigh!
Glenn Jericho on February 14, 2009 at 11:05 AM
genso,
I disagree.
As of now, those countries are still dependent on US demand. In a global downturn, demand is king (which is why the exporting countries got hit the worst during the Great Depression). I don’t see how, for example, Japan, whose economy is shrinking at an over 10% annual clip is going to help much. If China were willing to spend a large chunk of its reserves to stimulate domestic demand, it would help, and solidify their place as a new global power. The other countries you cite are too small in terms of wealth or dependent on commodities like oil to do much of anything to help. I mean, what is the mideast going to do? They’re just trying to work their cartel to get the price of oil higher, which certainly won’t help us.
blue13326 on February 14, 2009 at 11:07 AM
The problems in Europe are putting tremendous pressure on the European Union. The best thing that could happen for many of those countries is to dissolve it.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 11:07 AM
I thought that once Obama became President, and our “smart diplomacy” under Hillary got going, and the Foreign Affairs committee made it clear that the old diplomacy of ReaganBushitler was cast aside….everybody would love us.
Imagine my deep disappointment over this China pronouncement…
coldwarrior on February 14, 2009 at 11:10 AM
I’m not really sure.
We have about 800 billion in circulation according to the FRB.
I think the euro was at about 960 billion (in US dollars). And they have about 331 billion in gold.
So US – 800/241 – EU – 968/331. Pretty close percentage-wise – 30% -34%.
Here’s a link that gives me a headache after reading it for a while:
http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/gold_money_reserves_supply_M3_central_bank_071520082
Scroll way down to ratio of gold reserves to circulating currency.
reaganaut on February 14, 2009 at 11:11 AM
But I like Chinese food. It is delicous!
Mr. Joe on February 14, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Soon…very soon.
When the chips are down…it is everyman for himself when it comes to the EU.
coldwarrior on February 14, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Luo: King Abdullah, the Yuan is much more stable than the dollar I’ll offer you a cool trillion to switch the oil, dollar hegemony away from the dollar, hows that sound?
King Abdullah: nah, there’s a Democrat in the Whitehouse so there won’t be an increase in domestic oil production, come back and see me when gas prices hit $5 a gal. next July.
Luo to himself: crap, so close, guess we still gotta buy those damn worthless dollars, at least till July.
Pres. Obama: man, we gotta get those gas prices up, we have to save planet. Hegemony? Whats hegemony? Screw that, we’ll just spend more on social programs and windmills that’ll get votes and we don’t need no more stinking oil anyway.
Speakup on February 14, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Despite the nature of the oil market and the cry to go “green” the oil market will come back, the price of oil will go up and money will flow back to the middle east, and Russia, for that matter which will present another problem. As it is, except for Iran, the Middle East is still flush with cash. They will buy, along with China, the debt of this stimulus.
The Japanese have needed a global reset to get back in the game. Look for them to come on strong. India and Brazil, countries new to consumerism will also survive this and expand quickly as the economy picks up. Europe will be the Japan of the 90′s. China has room to grow from within as well as without. As long as the dollar is the dominant global exchange currency, we will survive. Just IMHO.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 11:16 AM
In 1897, troops from the greatest empire the world had ever seen marched down London’s mall for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. Seventy years later, Britain had government health care, a government-owned car industry, and massive government housing, having become a shriveled high-unemployment socialist basket case living off the dwindling cultural capital of its glorious past. In 1945, America emerged from the Second World War as the preeminent power on earth. Seventy years later . . .
Let’s not go there.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTdjMzQ0MTg3MDZkMWM0YWE1MGNiOTZhZTVkN2JhZmY=&w=MQ==
Mr. Joe on February 14, 2009 at 11:19 AM
I like the link you had for the Reagan v Obama on another thread. Everyone should listen to that.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 11:21 AM
China says:
O.K.
TooTall on February 14, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Buying our debt is the safest place to put their money.
They own us.
getalife on February 14, 2009 at 11:28 AM
I guess you haven’t eaten it in China ;-)
DarkCurrent on February 14, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Please don’t hate us, China. Our brilliant president loves you and everything about you. He wants to transform the American economy and infrastructure so that it more closely resembles yours. Please accept our humble apologies for the financial troubles we have caused and which our president will probably have completely fixed by,,,oh… say…Tuesday.
whitetop on February 14, 2009 at 11:32 AM
well, to be quite honest, this is one point where I can’t find it in me to dislike the Chinese. After all, THEY’RE not the ones embarking on an insane fiscal spending spree, or rather on the Mother of all insane fiscal spending sprees, which will ratchet american debt right up into the Ionosphere and beyond. In fact it’ll probably end up orbiting the planet Pluto.
The US is doing that, under the auspices of Chairman Obama.
Aylios on February 14, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Not So Happy Days reported in the NYT Op-ed:
CONGRESS has made a terrible mistake. Amid a rhetorical debate centered on words like “crisis,” “emergency” and “catastrophe,” it acted too fast. While arguments were made about the stimulus bill’s specific components — taxpayer money for condoms, new green cars and golf carts for federal bureaucrats, another round of rebate checks — its more dangerous consequences were overlooked. And now the package threatens a return to the kind of stagflation last seen in the 1970s.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/opinion/14ryan.html?_r=3&ref=opinion
Mr. Joe on February 14, 2009 at 11:42 AM
I had a professor in college who used to warn us that “Eventually we will all bow to our Chinese Master”
Guess it’s about that time. Rather bow to them than Barry anyway.
anniekc on February 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
So our economic system is stil technically a house of cards that could (and maybe even should) topple onto itself but it’s been essentially super glued together because there’s nothing else better.
Seriously?
Our debt based economy is the best there is? THAT’S as good as it gets in this world?
Well, for our sake, I guess that’s a good thing.
Yakko77 on February 14, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Thanks very much for that. There is a lot of int. info there. As the world’s reserve currency, I wonder if our ratio isn’t a tad low :). I also think that a country’s trade and budget deficits and surpluses ought to be taken into consideration when evaluating if their gold reserves are high or low, not to mention any FUTURE indebtedness they have entered into (Medicaire, Medicaid, SS, Stimulus, Financial bailout, military commitments, reparations, etc.) So I don’t automatically know how to assess our gold reserves as to their adequacy. I also wonder how this ratio has changed over time.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Thanks Democrats! You started this mess with Wilson, extended it under FDR and abused it under LJB, then WJC really stuck it to us, Bush continued the tradition and finally Obama will break us.
Tim Burton on February 14, 2009 at 12:04 PM
LOL.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Ha! That right there is pretty darn funny.
BowHuntingTexas on February 14, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Money isn’t the most important thing, but it sure is way out ahead of whatever is in 2nd place.
Money isn’t everything, its the only thing.
cjs1943 on February 14, 2009 at 12:15 PM
He has a good point. Will Obambi, the Populist “Bipartisan” Dictator listen?
No.
Montana on February 14, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Had a metals vendor tell me that Silver/gold ratio favors silver as investment….ratio historically very high.
Silver demand quite a bit higher in Asia…due to bird flu epidemic…..alot of things being coated with silver which is hyperalagenic–basically helps control the bird flu
sbark on February 14, 2009 at 12:17 PM
The situation is more complicated with China and US debt
they have a lot of banks which issue bad loans. Over half fail in the first year. Those loans are written off with the yields from US bonds so these companies the loans are given to can stay afloat. If they don’t stay afloat potentially 75% of the Chinese can lose their jobs
karasoth on February 14, 2009 at 12:19 PM
This isn’t really about China. It’s about our feckless insane clown congress who did this to us. It’s also about the ignoramuses who keep voting them back in to power. The Congress has budgeted more money than there is in the entire world. Are you happy now?
Mojave Mark on February 14, 2009 at 12:21 PM
At least he hates us for the right reasons — the identical reason why we hate ourselves.
Living on credit — it’s the American way.
unclesmrgol on February 14, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Seems to be true about silver. Silver has more industrial uses than gold, although at this very moment, both are being bought because they are alternate currencies.
Here’s an interesting article from ’04 about thepro’s and con’s of silver vs. gold. Don’t know who the guy is who wrote it, but was interesting to me.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM
They have no leverage to “hold Obama in check”. Treasuries aren’t redeemable for anything other than dollars. Anything done to drive down the value of the dollar is going to drive down the value of Treasuries. Translation: The Chinese have sold us a lot of tangible goods for the equivalent of a gun whose barrel points at the shooter.
unclesmrgol on February 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM
They’re just jealous that our government’s more socialistic than theirs. When can we start calling them the ChiCaps instead of the ChiComs?
Sign of the Dollar on February 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM
“Middlefinger”
-
Look out, Mama,
there’s a white boat
comin’ up the river
With a big red beacon,
and a flag,
and a man on the rail
I think you’d better call John,
‘Cause it don’t
look like they’re here
to deliver the mail
And it’s just a little while away
I hope they didn’t come to stay
It’s got numbers outta sight
and a gun
And it’s makin’ big waves.
-
Liberty’s gone,
my brother’s movin out
to the mountains
Big John’s been drinking
and the media’s after Sarah too.
So the powers that be
left us here
to do the thinkin’
And we just got royally screwed
We were wonderin’ what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew.
-
Daddy’s rifle in my hand
felt reassurin’
He told me,
Red means run, son,
number$ add up to nothin’
But when the first shot
hit the docks I saw it comin’
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.
-
Shelter me from the traitor’s
middle finger
Cover me with the thought
that pulled the trigger
Think of me
as one you’d never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
God knows I’ll miss her.
RalphyBoy on February 14, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Don’t know how tangible they are. My chinese made stuff usually needs to be thrown out after a few months. Maybe we sell each other junk.
But we do get a lot of oil for our dollars. Hope they don’t change their minds. I haven’t gotten the check from Obama yet to build my windmill.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 12:33 PM
I’ve tried it in Suchuan, Hunan, Hubei, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzen, Hong Kong and too many other places to mention. The world’s best Chinese food still comes from Ying’s Drive In in north Seattle. Honestly.
DarkCurrent on February 14, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Yeah why hold gold when you are the world’s largest producer? China Became World’s Top Gold Producer In 2007. I am guessing the concept of the head fake does not need to be expained. It is laughable to think that China has not thought about gold as a reserve asset.
If China is so keen on the dollar then why are they turning the Yuan into an international currency.
China has their fingers in all sorts of pies around the world and a Yuan decoupled from the dollar, a central bank with alot of gold and higher interest rates than the US will have much more buying power for the raw materials China needs to grow its economy.
How much stability will China have if it continues to have millions out of work? The less we buy from China the more political instability they get. Millions of Chinese out of work and frustrated. How long can China continue to buy our debt at the expense of their own currency? How long will millions of Chinese tolerate being out of work? China risks less by weening itself off of our debt, (not dumping it). They simply buy less, raise their interest rates over time, and loosen thier peg to the dollar.
Theworldisnotenough on February 14, 2009 at 12:39 PM
I prefer Flushing myself. But I do know what you mean. There certainly are lots of diff. parts of the animals than we’re accustomed to eating here at home. Do you go to the food courts in the malls there? At least you can see what it is you’re ordering.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 12:53 PM
I do go into the food courts occasionally. What I always want to know is what they do with the parts of the animals that the rest of the world is accustomed to eating… those parts are rarely to be found. You’ll find thousands of chicken feet and ducks’ necks before you find a single boneless chicken or duck breast. Where do they go?
DarkCurrent on February 14, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Can’t say I brame him.
Jim Treacher on February 14, 2009 at 1:13 PM
China doesn’t want their own population become serious consumers of their goods, a more democratic capitalism leads to a more democratic society…bad news for a totalitarian regime.
DeathToMediaHacks on February 14, 2009 at 1:14 PM
Clueless as usual
DarkCurrent on February 14, 2009 at 1:16 PM
True, but I lived in China for a long time, and my first impression is that his English sucks. Usually people speak “colloquial” when they don’t have the words to express themselves. I’d say he slept during his English classes and learned from Titanic and Spiderman.
p40tiger on February 14, 2009 at 1:24 PM
laughing again. Yeah, the bones. Lots of bones. LOL. Man, we are such an affluent society here at home. People don’t have the slightest clue, not even the slightest, what they are in the process of destroying. Even God must be crying.
JiangxiDad on February 14, 2009 at 1:36 PM
You can have all the gold in the world but it wont keep your citizens employed.
The U.S. and the world at large is their customer.
They need to capitalized on the trade / wage imbalance.
What the world needs, good or bad is a huge world war to set things right.
I know that sucks, but that is just the way it is.
TheSitRep on February 14, 2009 at 1:38 PM
Hate, like love, is hard to screw up in any language. For a diplomat to have used it in such a way should not be passed off as bad English.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 1:42 PM
We’ve got three foreigners on our team here, including myself. One is Indian and a vegetarian and brings his meals from home, so the bones are not an issue. The other American guy learned the Chinese word for “bone” (as in “does it have bones?”) within about a week of arriving. Funny how necessity drives language acquisition.
DarkCurrent on February 14, 2009 at 1:43 PM
If it comes to brinksmanship concerning a protectionist policy, which was the context of my statement, who do you think will blink?
genso on February 14, 2009 at 1:44 PM
One of my friends there bought a live chicken one evening to eat the next day. Overnight, her dog ate it. What amazed me was that someone would buy a live chicken in Shenzhen.
genso on February 14, 2009 at 1:46 PM
My take is a little different. I think he may have been trying to cross the culture gap and express himself in an informal way as Chinese understand American culture to be. Perhaps just trying too hard.
DarkCurrent on February 14, 2009 at 1:53 PM
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