The Debtor's Dance: the U.S.-China Exchange

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:



The Debtor's Dance: the U.S.-China Exchange
By Robert Borosage

July 30, 2009 - 11:16am ET


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Obama's opening speech set the stakes: "The relationship between the United States and China will shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world." (emphasis added) The U.S., the world's largest debtor, met this week with the confident leaders of its largest creditor, the communist government of China.

What took place over the last two days was hailed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as "unprecedented," the "largest gathering ever of top leaders from our two countries," addressing an "unparalleled" range of issues.

The American press, of course, was more focused on Sarah Palin's departure than the Chinese arrival. Neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post managed a report on the discussions in the Wednesday paper.

This isn't surprising since any conversations that were candid were private, and there was little of substance to announce.

But the exchange was revealing in its own way. President Obama, exercising his remarkable gift for presenting a sea change as a gentle current, laid out the fundamental challenge almost in passing:

Going forward, we can deepen this cooperation. ....And as Americans save more and Chinese are able to spend more, we can put growth on a more sustainable foundation -- because just as China has benefited from substantial investment and profitable exports, China can also be an enormous market for American goods.

This has been Obama's revolutionary message to the leaders of the world. The U.S. cannot go back to the old economy where we borrowed $2 billion a day, largely from the Chinese, to be the consumer of the world by living far beyond our means. We must consume less, produce more, and sell more abroad and balance our trade. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009073130/debtors-dance-us-china-exchange