NationStates Jolt Archive

I agree. Better sooner than later. Especially the part about taking out a few politicians on both sides of the Pacific.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Reports Wednesday suggested that Chinese officials have begun threatening a concerted series of foreign reserve sales to deliberately weaken the U.S. dollar and punish the U.S. Congress for its efforts to impose trade tariffs.
We should be so lucky.
Such sales would effectively accomplish what China's congressional critics want -- i.e. reduce U.S. imports -- while at the same time destroying part of the value of China's foreign exchange holdings.
Massive sales of U.S. treasuries would doubtless cause interest rates to rise and, combined with the already faltering U.S. housing market, probably push the U.S. economy into a recession we're probably overdue for.
The real question the Chinese leadership must resolve is whether the damage to their own country's economy, or at least to its apparatchiks and nouveau oligarchs, would be any less severe.
In some ways the U.S. relationship to China is a variant of the old saying: If you owe a billion dollars, the bank owns you. If you owe a trillion dollars, you own the bank.
As China's most significant export market, a healthy U.S. economy means China has a place to offload all the plastic gizmos it can make, along with toys covered in lead-based paints and tubes of toxic toothpaste.
Maintaining blistering growth has been important enough for China's own "political" leadership that they've been willing to subsidize U.S. consumption by buying up U.S. debt and keeping interest rates low.
At some point that will have to change. China will have to let its currency's appreciation against the dollar accelerate, irrespective of what anybody in Congress says.
So Americans should probably be grateful. After all, as long as we're heading down this mountain with no brakes on, we're better off having the accident sooner rather than later, even if the collateral damage takes out a few politicians on both sides of the Pacific.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/chinas-threats-sell-dollars-may/story.aspx?guid=%7B7FD5B99C%2D9BA0%2D4EC3%2D8EE2%2D187FB8F9D982%7D

No one can upset the apple cart, without shooting themselves in the ass.

I'm just enjoying watching the fall of the west and the rise of the east. Particularly in the context of USA/China. Both countries are shitty in their own way, but Chinese shitness is new and refreshing next to the same old American shitness. I'll probably tire of chinese shitness one day, but not before I am finished relishing the agonising deflation of the "worlds last superpower". Pfft!

I'm just enjoying watching the fall of the west and the rise of the east. Particularly in the context of USA/China. Both countries are shitty in their own way, but Chinese shitness is new and refreshing next to the same old American shitness. I'll probably tire of chinese shitness one day, but not before I am finished relishing the agonising deflation of the "worlds last superpower". Pfft!

Yet that Chinese shit is so close to your front door. The smell may overpower you.

Yet that Chinese shit is so close to your front door. The smell may overpower you.

Oh I love the smell of Chinatown. I love Chinatown. *bliss*

I just love the way the chinese 'do' the world superpower thing.

America:
"Hey you are secretly engaging in these activities!"
"You hate the troops! Terrorist! We're just trying to protect *you*. Uh.. .democracy rules..."

China:
"Hey you are secretly engaging in these activities!"
*Shoots you in head and sells your organs*

China is struggling to keep their economy from overheating too much; so "damaging" their economy in this way would probably not hurt them much.

China is struggling to keep their economy from overheating too much; so "damaging" their economy in this way would probably not hurt them much.

Of course, there's only ONE way to know for sure...

China is struggling to keep their economy from overheating too much; so "damaging" their economy in this way would probably not hurt them much.

As the article points out, the overwhelming majority of their exporst are bound for American ports. It's not just damaging their economy that would hurt, it's damaging ours that might be the kicker. A US recession means less money here to buy "Made In China."

[QUOTE=GreaterPacificNations;12948540]I'm just enjoying watching the fall of the west and the rise of the east.[QUOTE]

Yeah, I also thought that for a while. But now, I even doubt the long-term accuracy of the "Death of the West", or, more acurately, that the "Rise of the East" is realted to it. With the power mankind has achieved today, the rise in the way China is doing it will have a fatal effect on the planet. They cannot continue this way. A "superpower" in the traditional sense is no longer possible, at least it requires much more than any nation on this planet will achieve within the next few decades. China will be powerful, but those giggling seeing US soldiers killed in Iraq should keep in mind that no power on this world would've fared any better (except perhaps for Al'Quaida itself, and maybe Iran), not even China. The world is getting more complex, more balanced, but the West isn't going to die yet. Even with the US becoming second-rank or having to share first rank, that's still a great power, and there's still Russia, which is on the rise again and is a western nation, and there is the EU, which is no great power, but still able to hold its own. And there are other things for China to address: Pollution, its neighbours Russia and India, unrest, demographics,...
In the end, I think the whole of mankind is rapidly approaching a point in which its power is so great that any attempt to outrun or outgun any of the current world powers in the short term will have catastrophic results. Even if there's no open war, the costs in terms of resources and energy this would require will cause total collapse, sooner or later.

Well, the amount of damage they could do is a fairly continuous function.
They could sell of a a hundred million dollars, or a billion dollars, or ten billion, etc.
If they start low they could find what a safe limit is without too many bad consequences. (Unless there's really long term chaotic effects)

Well, the amount of damage they could do is a fairly continuous function.
They could sell of a a hundred million dollars, or a billion dollars, or ten billion, etc.
If they start low they could find what a safe limit is without too many bad consequences. (Unless there's really long term chaotic effects)

But in order to limit the damage to their own economy, they will have to limit the damage they do to us - and not just us, but to the whole of the West. I haven't checked, but I'd be willing to bet that their next biggest export destination is the EU. Export is of critical importance to China in every respect.