History shows that nations that can’t control their economic fortunes don’t control much else. Debt freezes destinies — as every credit-card holder knows.
Europeans discovered that after World War II, when they lost the power to make major decisions without first checking with their lender-in-chief, the United States. At that time, we used our economic dominance to rebuild Europe, not reduce it to impotence.
On the other hand, If US-China relations continue to deteriorate — over arms sales to Taiwan, Internet freedom issues, Chinese industrial espionage and a Chinese military build-up that looks more and more like it’s directed at challenging US power in Asia — our lenders-in-chief in Beijing may not be so scrupulous.
Indeed, back in 1999, the Chinese literally wrote the book on how to use economic asymmetries as a blunt instrument, entitled “Unrestricted Warfare.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member