American Morning
China Rising: Assessing China's impact on America
Editor's Note: Before the turn of the century, it was considered a "no brainer" for U.S. businesses: you had to be in China. Fast forward ten years and you have to ask the question, "has China been good or bad for America?" This week in our original series "China Rising," we're assessing China's economic impact on the United States. Tomorrow on American Morning, Christine Romans examines how China has changed American businesses. One look at your dinner table will tell you everything you need to know.
By Christine Romans, CNN
(CNN) – The question nine years after China was admitted to the World Trade Organization and officially welcomed in to the world economy is this: Has China's rise been good or bad for America?
Meet Steve Udden. He is a husband, father of two daughters and a trade statistic.
"I felt like a baseball player that got traded from a team that he loved playing for and loved the fans. I loved my customers; my coworkers were like second family to me," he explains.
His job as a telecoms projects manager went overseas to China when his factory moved there. Classified by the U.S. government as a casualty of foreign trade qualifies him for a stipend and money for retraining. Unemployment benefits and COBRA health insurance help fill the gap.
“We are keeping it level and steady and holding the line and right now we are ok.”
He's the face of the increasingly strained relations between the United States and China.
One think-tank estimates 2.4 million manufacturing jobs were lost between 2001-2008.
With China's explosive rise comes a nation that is now a key player in America's domestic and foreign policy. Take its currency: Anything made in China is cheaper than made in the USA. Why?
“They arbitrarily control the value of their currency and they do not allow it to float, like most other currencies in which supply and demand for the currency set the value of it,” explains Dan Slane of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
That means one dollar is always equal to roughly 6.83 Yuan.
“The manipulation of their currency gives them about a 40% advantage and it puts our exporters at an enormous disadvantage,” says Slane.
The Treasury secretary abruptly postponed releasing a report this week that could have listed China as a currency manipulator, opting for backroom diplomacy and a closed-door meeting in Beijing. This comes just before China's President Hu Jintao comes to Washington for nuclear talks.
“That's good. We're not going to hang him out to dry politically while he's here, which would be disastrous,” says Robert Kapp, a China trade and business consultant.
And then there's this: Pressuring China is tricky. China is America's banker, the world's factory floor. It’s building its military, buying more of the world's natural resources to fuel its growth and it doesn't like Americans telling it what to do.
“The Chinese [are] showing a new assertiveness and aggressiveness that took many Americans by surprise… I think it's partly because they're starting to listen to what we say about this being China's century and then they started to internalize it and say: Well if this is our century, then we should determine what goes on,” says Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China."
Chang: China may need America more than America needs China 
At the same time, the United States needs China's influence with emerging nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran.
“Thus far, the Chinese and U.S. have clearly not been of one mind. The Chinese have said over and over, oh, we're going to do it diplomatically, let's negotiate and the Americans have gotten more and more impatient and tried to move the world in the direction of difficult sanctions,” says Kapp.
As the temperature rises, the American people wonder: Is China an opportunity or a threat?
“It's going to be both. And the question is, on balance, is it better or is it worse,” says Chang.
It is a question that is unanswered for Steve Udden.
He is still out of work in Foxboro, Massachusetts. His job is now somewhere in China.
His outlook is quintessentially American.
“I'm completely optimistic and believe in the marrow of my bones that I am going to find something that is good for me and my wife and children.
Publicly, the Chinese dismiss the Obama administration’s calls to let its currency rise. Chinese officials insist the United States is using Beijing as a scapegoat for its own economic troubles.
Premier Wen Jiabao, in rare public comments, recently scolded the President Obama and called America's attitude "protectionist." He said the United States has too many of its own problems to interfere in how China chooses to do business.
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I'm neither Chinese, nor American, but. I hope that China, Japan, US, and EU become all good friends and build the future of mankind together progressively.
Competition is important however, confrontation is not necessary.
Welcome to the New World Order. Did you think there was something in it for you? Sorry, it's about the top 2%-4% of wealthy Americans becoming filthy rich! They have moved their
capital offshore.
You need to figure out how to survive again! Retrain or fall between the cracks. The 90's was the biggest sell-out of America in history. Your representatives in Congress
did this on 'your behalf'. Deal with it! Next time you'll get off
your dumb arses and vote!
Impact is obviously negative. Sadly, some readers might read Ms Romans commentary and interpreted it as reasons to hate or blame the Chinese. We as Americans can't have it both ways. It was great when Western European countries and the US exploited and benefited from "capitalism." Now that countries such as China and India are doing it, we blame them for all our misfortunes.
The root of the problem is not China, we need to look in the mirror and stop blaming everyone else. Our government & policy makers (both Republican & Democrats) have failed us for decades. Many individuals got too greedy, taking on huge risk while average savings went to zero. All it takes is for one family member to get sick, loose a job, get hurt, and all hell breaks loose. The answer was that they just file for bankruptcies.
Thanks to Congress, firms took advantage of the deregulatory rules and corporate loop holes. Free trade made it easier for firms to move jobs overseas so they can minimize cost and maximize profits. Executives and share holders got huge rewards for doing so that some firms were allowed to become too big to fail. Then when mistakes were made and realized, taxpayers have to rescue them.
We are the largest consumer in the world and over half of the goods made in China are exported to the US. If the products are not made in China, it will just be somewhere else like Vietnam, India, Brazil, etc. There is absolutely no shortage of cheap labor around the world. The Chinese government don't care what the US government thinks. All these jockeying is nothing but politics. We're screwed if they dump or stop buying our debt. Likewise, they are screwed as well if we stop buying. The reality is that the Chinese government is trying to capitalize on the situation to make sure that their GDP growth continues (albiet at a more sustainable pace) They are concern about their own market bubble and are trying to avoid the same mistake that we made. All these calls are nothing more than background noise to them.
Any US company that sends jobs overseas should be prevented from selling its products on US soil. The US companies should be taking care of US people, there is still plenty of room for profit and responsible dedication to US workers at the same time.
Christene: The republicans sold this country to the Chinese!
Trump: "China thinks we are dumb SOBs". There is your answer.
Why we continue to do business with China is beyond me. All we are doing is financing the build up of their military. This is going to come back to haunt us. We need to stop now!
I think we are cutting our own throats. This is absolutely insane. To move business to the Chinese, put our employees out of work and to give them more and more money is just nuts. We need to pull in and if we do without, it is better than giving it to them. They will never care about us, just our money and if push comes to shove, they are a big country and with all the technology we have just marched over there in the name of a buck, they will have the advantage. We should stay nervous.
That is what happens when you deal with Communist! American companies were too cheap to pay Americans a decent salary, they took their companies to China for cheap labor and now we’re getting screwed by Chinese!
The US government has forgotten all about Americans. We’re infested by drugs, 13mm illegal immigrants taking over our nation, gang warfare in every mayor city, homosexually destroying the fabric of America, co-inhabitation, abortion, open borders and our constitution being ripped apart, a broken government! Never has the morale of this country been so low that it’s even despairing and falling prey to drugs, legally and illegally.
The Supreme Court and this government has lost it’s faith and has given power to atheists and demoralizing groups who are misleading America to oblivion! No long are we guided by principle but rather by a plague called ‘GREED’.
I want to thank our government for being there for us by pushing us to the edge!
The Republicans literally gave away the store, that's why all the production moved to China. And Chinese goods are not cheaper because they manipulate the currency, but because they can force their people to work for peanuts, precisely to attract businesses that want to cut corners. The Republicans have devastated America, the crime of the century.
Last time I heard, our (USA) economy was $14.2 trillion compared with China's $4 trillion dollar economy. Walmart alone is approximately 20% of all Chinese exports .... Whay are we kissing arse? So they hold trillions of Greenbacks in thier vaults, if they release them, they will devalue the greenback and make USA exports more affordable. Also, I've read articles that have stated that China is bankrupt ... do your research people we are in a world wide depression. We (USA) will lead the world out of the Depression, after China collapses, and this collaspe make come sooner rather than later.
"it doesn't like Americans telling it what to do." You mean any other countries in the world like Americans telling them what to do? Or American like others tell us what to do? Come on.. CNN... you can say better...
How has it come to be that a one party communist \ capitalist country has become americas banker? Sombody better wake up soon. The government of the peoples republic of china is hell bent on world domination.
China is NOT our friend period.
China is only able to purchase US securities because of our status as their customer and the fact that they manipulate their currencies. That is an artificial status that could end very quickly were they to anger their biggest customer.
Let me put that in words even the dumbest Chinese person can understand: Never bite the hand that feeds you.
History repeats itself. One hundred years ago the United States became the industrial and financial center of the world, taking the position from Britain. Today, China is doing the same to the U.S. in both industry and the financial sector. China is the new super power to emerge, and regardless of China's human rights issues, they are gaining ground quickly and will eventually move ahead of the U.S. in the world economically.
The best thing to do with the jobs lost and the laborers put out of work is to issue credit for reeducation, personal development and state projects in many areas. An army of 30 million laborers are idle. That is more than adequate to rebuild the roads, rails and to repower the nation. America should not ever put its money into play. Only credit needs to be granted. China needs resources to develop. It does not have the global reach to get them. We do and they have credit to give us for doing that for them. They are also in need of expanding markets. We with our expertise in infrastructure and development can give them that as well. There is also the issue of running low on fossil fuels. By transitioning to LFTR we can preserve the life of the world's oil and coal deposits as well as give us the boost we need to get to the moon. On the moon and mercury there is H3 in great abundance. The technologies developed to go to Io and Mercury should allow for efficient D T fusion to buy us more than enough time to reach the stars.
China is a threat. However, unlike the U.S., China is loyal to its people and workers, which are protected. The United States government serves other governments better than its own people.
Manufacturing creates wealth. With wealth, comes power. With all that power, China will not be subservient for long. Our lust for all things cheap is killing the middle class and draining our power. Oh well, we'll all be overskilled greeters at wally-world.
Gordon Chang writes the book titled "The Coming Collapse of China"
What about the book "The Coming Collapse of America"?
This article says alot about China's self interest etc etc and totally ignores America's decades of acting in self-interest. A little taste of the U.S' own medicine...a little karma...
Theres going to probably be a lot of racist, nationalist comments from Americans.
All I have to say to them is:
"Pay Up Sucka!"
China has a more free enterprise market than we do.
The government prefers financial jobs over manufacturing, so bailouts are given to financial institutions, and taxes raised on manufacturers.
If you really want revitalized manufacturing, we need to become competitive once again. Manufacturers pay more in taxes and regulations than they pay in wages. Something will eventually give if we're to maintain our standard of living, and let's hope it's not wages. Maybe I'm too optimistic given the idiots we have for politician/economists these days.
Also, if Obama is listened to and the Chinese does let their currency rise, that will absolutely devastate us. Being priced out of a source of manufacturable goods will only hurt consumers that are dependent on those goods– it's not like we have the industrial wherewithal to step up to the plate with as little industrial investment that's occurring.
The value of the yaun, even if 40% undervalued is NOT the problem. So what if a $15 Chinese-made toaster at Wal-Mart were to cost $25, no big deal. The competitive threat is Chinese wages. So long as your average Chinese factory worker earns $250 a month (vs $250 a day for a US worker) China is defineitely the place to do business.
Wow, China is doomed. I see it.
CNN always "report" something when Washington has something to say. I think Washington is going to label China as currency manipulator, and CNN is buttering up the idea for the public.
As long as we allow our companies to out source like we do. Or to move totally out of the usa, then we will have issues with unempolyment and china or any country.
We should hit those who out source or move with heavy tax liablity. Which would wipe out the so called savings they are getting by being in china or any other country other then usa.
Corp. Run this country far to much. Case in point AIG to big to fail? yea right. let em fail i for one do not want to give another dime of tax payer money to any company.
I don't think there is anything wrong with China have an upperhand in our century. The United States can't always be the leading power in the world. We need to be alittle more willing to concede when it comes to other countries ability to compete as it relates to business.
Premier Jiaboa is right. The US has too many problems to have the gall to interfere in anyone's affairs. Ironcially, China tops our financial woes.
Lopsided trade deficits and billions borrowed for an unlawful has made us beholden to China, a fact not lost on them.
But our neon Capitalist gods have outsourced our jobs, opened businesses in China, taking full advantage of slave wages and exporting cheap goods to the US..
We bear the blunt for our own lust and greed, so unless we can wean ourselves of Walmart junk, it is now our turn to worship at the knee and kiss the backside of our Asian counterparts.
As someone who understands both cultures, I think it's important to recognize that China shouldn't have to listen to U.S. nobody wants to be told what to do, south Korea didn't like it when we told them that they needed to support us in Iraq. no country in the world wants to see themselves as submissive to the U.S.
that being said, being in the high tech business, I see the infringement of IP and technology when doing business with them. there's no transparency in the government there; that's not the way the Chinese believe their government should be. ppl would laugh at you if you tell them that government should be by the ppl for the ppl.
my advise to the U.S. government is, keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. As Americans, we have to make sure we are educated, innovative and keep challenging ourselves as we did when we went to the moon. This mentality is really the edge we have over China who is best at copying.
This is a question that needs to be asked really? American jobs lost.....homes lost due to job loss, bank failures due to over the top mortgage failures. The Republicans passed NAFTA and GATT...gave the communists "most favorable trade"status. Clinton signed it into law, and now we have the devil to pay. I heard Obama promise some reform on the NAFTA treaty during his campaign. Where is that? Dems are jsut as guilty as the Republicans on this one. They have both done more damage to weaken this nations defenses by the massive loss of a tax base to pay for defense. Borrowing from the very country that seeks to destroy us at our own game. Letting us rot from within.
Worth to keep in mind that the low exchange rate of China's currency keeps the price of EVVRYTHING (except raw food) we buy today affordable.
Higher exchange rate = more expensive goods.
We can't have it both ways.
This sounds a lot like the automotive industry in the 1980s griping about how everything was going to Japan. We survived then, we'll survive now. Is China manipulating its currency? Heck yeah, but they can't do it forever. Plus, we're now joined at the hip. China bought trillions in US Govt Securities to keep the RMB low and is dependent on us buying their stuff. If we go down, we're taking them with us...
We better wake up and realize china is going to end up owning us if we dont stop the money borrowing. . We need to change our policy on import export-We are the only country that taxes what we export and not whats imported Thats why all these companies leave the U.S. who can blame them if you build it elsewhere and ship it home -NO TAXES you build it here you pay taxes thats nuts. China isnt our friend they would probably invade us if we didnt have our nukes. remember when they where caught sneeking military into the panama canal region and the warehouses in cal. if they can take us out who else on the planet could stop them with a of 200 million that they now have.
"Premier Wen Jiabao, ... called America's attitude 'protectionist.'"
Yeah, and we have a right to be. China's cheap labor and the greedy conglomerates here in the US that buy it are costing Americans their jobs. It's time to bring the jobs back here.
Yes, China is a threat to US. China have beaten US on selling their stuffs around the world because their stuff are cheaper than those made in US. Also China have been hack in Google which US hate it. You know US & China might end up in a Second Cold War. China is a powerful communist than Soviet Union. China military is getting bigger, stronger, & powerful. China economy is growing & going up by skyrocket after China is a superpower. China have threaten sanctions against US for selling their weapons to Taiwan. There is still a chance for US economy to beat China economy. Which is starting finding way to make Algae bio fuel & bio diesel that would make US more richest than China.
Why does the press forget to mention that China HAS let the currency increase in value to the tune of about 28% from 2007 to today. When I first moved to China in 1999 I enjoyed 8.3 exchange rate to one US dollar. Today the rate is 6.8%. Whenever I make an exchange of USD to RMB I am reminded by the bank teller or shown the current exchange rate of the day. (It does change a few tenths daily but pretty much is pegged)
The USA should forget about the exchange rate issue. US consumers want a fixed rate so products remain cheap. The Chinese want a fixed rate in order to keep things stable in a country where the population is 5 times that of America. (1.3 billion)
So the only one who wants a lower rate would be US companies selling into China. But wait, instead of hammering China on the RMB value (which if really free floated would only change a few more percent) WE SHOULD FORCE CHINA TO ELIMINATE THE VAT!!!
My goodness, I am not a Harvard Scholar but it seems to me if you want a win-win for China and the USA. Back off the RMB exchange rate issue and bring light to the VAT issue. Currently the Chinese VAT stands at 17% plus a normal tax of 10% so the total tax US imports face is 27%!!! No wonder our goods are so expensive in China! For example, A quart of Haggen Daas ice cream imported from New Jersey (yes haggen Daas is from NJ not Belgium) is ten dollars retail in Shanghai.
Free floating the currency is never going to equal in benefit what US manufacturers could gain in eliminating the VAT! Our China goods are cheap in America not because the RMB is pegged to the US dollar but because the US doesn't rake Chinese imports over the coals like China does to our imports to their country. America has no VAT on Chinese imports and very little tax if any! 28% import tax into China is the real issue not RMB valuation. Right your congress or local rep to focus on eliminating Chinese VAT!
An American living and working in China
JZ
China doesn't like America telling it what to do? America calls the shots on this planet. China has two options: Do what America tells it to do, or leave the planet. We'll give them a few months to decide.
The USA is the ruler of the world. China is a mere pawn in our global agenda. Do not falter my fellow Americans. Do not put up with the rebellious nature of our subordinate countries.
Floating currencies was probably one of the most damaging things ever done to the sovereignty of nations. Instead of fixed exchange rates, we now have the world banking cartel pocketing the difference whenever "values" fluctuate for one reason or another.
China is new USSR and should be treated as such.
Sounds like they hold ALL the cards
Have influence over Korea
Now #1 car market
Taking millions of jobs due to labor costs
Have Billions in US Debt
World's Natural Resources are heading there first due to skyrocketing demand
Major international currency advantages
Growing military strength
They will want our Hamburgers and blue jeans
When they learn how we do that
We got a problem!
Rusty
The solution to the china problem is give them oil and global access to raw materials in exchange for being our credit and manufacturing engine. We can do this by making south com, pac com, cent com and africom territorial security forces. South com may be the hardest and the primary role of africom and centcom may be the facilitation of state and domestic infrastructure relative to resource extraction and market development. Pac com might do well to start developing ocean floor infrastructure and mining technologies. We should move to make the pacific basin an american territory for development. Just like what russia did with the arctic. The issue with profiting off of south com is that the latin nations have a we can do it ourselves attitude. There may be large engineering projects in the future that may be required of africa, the middleast and Australia in order to feed the populations of the developing world and to restore some of the trade deficients to the united states.
The question itself is redundant. Of course, with all your reporting, the only view that Americans have is "bad for America". If you want a fair analysis, then try reporting in detail all the impact the US has had on China as well (yes, even the bad ones- there are alot). What the US has got to do is throw away out-dated misconceptions that China is a underdeveloped communist country that is susceptible to outside control.
"and it doesn't like Americans telling it what to do." Which country in the world enjoys being ordered around by others, esp. Americans? It may only be just a remark, but the US has got to realize that it can't just push China around, like what it does to other countries. It keeps saying China is a superpower, then treat it as one- with respect, not only for their economic power but also to their culture and history. Only then can they truly become partners.
The bottom line is that you want a true and educated answer? Give us both sides of the story. You think that the Chinese love America? This is a two-way route: how China affects the US depends on how the US affects China.
Where are all the comments from the paid Chinese spokespeople?
Why wasn't it a stipulation in the admission to the WTO that their currency float? Any economist would tell you that with no float comes manipulation.
It is obvious to me that America is already deep in the middle of a trade war that we are clearly losing. Our Government, unfortunately, will be the last group of people to figure this out. In 2009 alone, our trade deficit with China was $227 Billion and worse in other years according to the US Gov't Census Bureau. THAT's $227 BILLION (or more) LEAVING OUR ECONOMY EVERY YEAR AND FUELING GROWTH IN CHINA. We simply cannot sustain this trend and unless we change course, American taxpayers will be left holding the empty bag.
As consumers, we have a very powerful voice and that's through what we buy. Demand to store owners that they sell equivalent products made in America and buy those instead of buying the Chinese made ones. Cheapness comes with a cost, and that is our future.
China is America's banker. LOL! China is America's master and has been since we outsourced all our jobs to them. We love Communists dictatorship just as long as they don't disobey our wishes. This article should be asking, "Is America's economy, which was crashed by design by the Federal Reserve, *as admitted bu MSNBC* a threat to China's Communist bankers?"
There is nothing that says China will continue rising forever. China has a long history of social, political, and economic unrest. Although everything seems sound on the outside right now, it's likely there are major problems brewing within. The Chinese government is not even half as transparent as our federal government is, and their tightening further by the day. Corruption runs rampant among the communist party, of which there is little media to uncover it. I think China is no more fearsome than the Soviets were in the 1970s. Right now China is only enjoying massive economic growth because of construction, but what happens when the property bubble bursts? The bottom is going to fall out of the economy. China's global power is actually very small compared to what the Soviets was, or even Nazi Germany.
The US has seemingly been on the rocks many times before. But the stars and stripes always seem to come out on top.
Wen Jaibo knows just as well as we do that China's prosperity is inextricably tied to that of its biggest customer–us.
I think that China has pursued a policy intended to rebalance wealth in their favor, but they also know that it can't last forever, and that the rest of the world can't absorb their production if we go under. They'll probably let the yuan float in the near future just to prevent the US from becoming a permanent debtor & a ruined market.
i fingures if we rack up a couple more trillions of debt with china there will be no way to repay them back, just on the interest alone is a big number to reduce. so let fast forward it into 3 year from now, and let say we now owe this chinese people another 5 trillions, and let say the seriously press for their return in full, what are we then to do>>? option one: sell not just part of american{ which we dont have much left} but all of america to settle the debt honorably. or option two: tell china they just been pimp and make them lose face...and proceed millitary... the third option: well ask the catholic priest to petition their jesus and lord and god and virgin mary and all their saint for their god to snap his finger and all our debt is miraclously paid in full..!
It is obvious to me that America is already deep in the middle of a trade war that we are clearly losing. In 2009 alone, our trade deficit with China was $227 Billion and worse in other years according to the US Gov't Census Bureau. THAT's $227 BILLION (or more) LEAVING OUR ECONOMY EVERY YEAR AND FUEL GROWTH IN CHINA AT OUR EXPENSE. We simply cannot sustain this trend.
As consumers, we have a very powerful voice and that's through what we buy. Demand to the store owner that they sell equivalent products made in America and buy those instead of buying the Chinese made one. After all, the US Gov't will be the last group of people to figure this out.
Now those who supported the cut-taxes-and-spend-like-drunken-sailors (the Bush Administration) raise the loudest voices in protest of current fiscal policy, baming the current administration for spending to try and dig us out of the mess the so-called "Conservatives" and the party of "NO" – the "Republicans" – who for eight miserable years bragged about cutting taxes but all the while started the borrowing from China after squandering the treasury surplus they inherited thus putting us ALL in this hole. And Sarah, Newt, and the college drop out on the radio (Rush) want to "take back our country"? For what, more plundering of the middle class and drive us further into debt?
REMEMBER WHO GOT US INTO THIS MESS – and it wasn't the current administration!!!
If manipulating its own currency works for China, why don't we do it?
“The Chinese [are] showing a new assertiveness and aggressiveness that took many Americans by surprise…,” says Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China."
========
No sir, it's greed that sold out the country. There is no surprise here, only greed. The was no failing in learning China history. It's pure greed that cloud the effect.
Good job quoting the fraud Gordon Chang who predicted China would fail several years ago. He's a China hater...please don't interview this joke anymore. Everyone in the professional community is laughing at him. haha
Here's an Idea, trade restrictions on all imported Chinese junk. Since the government needs money, why not? It really makes sense considering the very country we are indebted to (the most of any) makes a huge profit off of our over-consuption of poor quality goods.
That way, when we have to go back and reservice the debt we don't have to tax our people's income more, we just tax their consumption. After all, the government is stocked full of pros who are more than capable of figuring out exactly where to set a tarrif rate so that it doesn't stop people from buying the Chinese junk it only increases the price a little.
We have not China to blame for this situation but only ourselves.
Will the Enclave be our only hope?
Thank you China for paying for our social security checks being that our wasteful gov't cannot quit spending and borrowing.
Thanks to all the greedy souls for selling out the country. They have heped waking up a sleeping giant dragon! It's now too late. China will be number one.
Screw the Chinese government and what they want to say. There are clear evidence that the chinese government are suppressing their currency. Well, if they don't let their currency value rise, then we have to do so politically by giving them additional tariff proportional to their under valued currency.
If you thought the US was a bully, just wait and see what China does!
With the trillions in debt we've already incurred and the trillions more on the way, we'll soon be like Greece where other countries (and not just China) are telling us now to run our finances. God knows we could use the help.
The time is coming when China gets bold enough to demand American debts by paid. What is America going to do? If America says go pound sand, then other nations will not trust America in future banking and trade. But America can't say they'll pay it back, because they don't have the money. On the flip side, if America were to pull all of its holdings and investments in China, they would collasp. Its economic cold war.
This countries' corporate leaders have been busy training their future competitor, all to fatten the bottom line and at the expense of the American worker. Unfortunately many companies here in the US have become blase about work and as a result are no longer even slightly competitive or productive. This has forced companies to look elsewhere. Our business needed some aluminum extrusions recently and could not obtain the quality or service from any US manufacturer.
Walmart advertises; "Save Money. Live Better" .... yeah but only if you still have a job!!!
I think the days of the US being the world economic power are gone, thanks to the Wal Marts of this country.
It still has the potential to be excellent, IF, that's a big IF, the Chinese arrive at understanding that a strong economy doesn't mean hoarding everything over to its side and leaving it there to admire.
It will be fabulous if they ever understand that economy means flow. If you make money flow, there is growth, prosperity and technological progress.
I do not profess to be an expert on Chinese culture, however, something tells me that after many years of "Communism" where Atheism was taught, the Chinese are bent on materialism even more that we are and that coupled with many years of doing without, will probably make them "hoard over to their side" without flow and continue to create problems. We showed the way to Capitalism, now we need to show them the way to economic flow, where everybody gets to wet their beak.
It is not just manufacturing jobs that are being lost to China, it's also many service industry jobs. I'm an architectural illustrator and all the large US firms are getting their renderings done in China for 1/3 of the fees we were getting two years ago. Our industry is small and not many people have noticed that we've gone away. What hurts the most is the artistry as also died.
Some of us have been called protectionist for years. I wish that we could call our politicians protectionist of the United States.
Every day that our politicians fail to correct the problems that they created by what they refer to as a "Free Trade Policy" we move closer to a third world economy.
China has a burgeoning population that it must appease. China has too much invested in the USA not to try and keep us healthy. They need our market as much as we need their money to borrow. Hopefully our leadership will recognize this as should theirs and take paths where we are both mutually benefited. Although I do not agree with all of the free trade, it has added one reason for the Chinese to be our friends in that we owe them & they need us to sustain their standard of living.
I think we can agree to disagree on certain issues but still be allies. We are both paranoid of each other for good reason but countries like people should little by little act more responsibly as our relationship ages.
if i owe money to a friend of mine.. and its alot of money..
and he starts to have money problems.. hes going to want to collect.
if he does well... i do well. plain and simple
This is bad for America and the Western world. If these people can roll tanks over their own students (tiananmen square) what are they going to do to us if we ever have to fight them sometime in the future? In addition to the fact that this is a totalitarian regime China has a 1 million strong army and isn't scared of using it and since the West has already handed them all our money our position is greatly undermined and weakened. Just my thoughts on the matter.
China has indeed come a very long way since 1900,the year of the Boxer Rebellion.No country in the twentieth century has achieved so much in so short a time and again almost no country has suffered quite as much.One can't help but admire such a country and especially one that the West has come to depend on for it's finances.
China is in a great position. They pay their people crap, to make crap to sell to the US. China is one of the reasons our economy is in shambles. They yanked billions out of our housing market expediting the crash, they undervalue their currency, they pollute their lands because they only care about production levels.. the Chinese government will soon have a crisis on their hands though.. they have their own bubble to worry about.. and censorship is going to bite them in the Yen!
It cannot be but a threat.
Because 1.3 billion Chinese want to live just as "we" live in the West.
That means consuming vast amounts of the worlds resources and someone will have to give them up in order for the Chinese to be able to consume them!
They are a threat. When we blame other for our bad economy..IE Obama. You should be pointing the finger at yourself. You want it cheap you got it. Put more American out of work. You want to let the rich get richer..let them move their factories to Asia.
There is one way to fix the problem and it would be quick results. Every American would have a job. Close our borders for overseas product for one year.
But that will not happen, will if America. YOU WANT YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TO.
WE are our own worse enemy and we blame the government.
I stated 40 years ago, one day China will be military-stronger than the USA, and will pose a extreme threat to our country...
I won't eat my words, because it is coming true...
Americans should be terrified.
Too dumb tho"
China has been the biggest threat all along. While the imbecile Bush and his cronies were burning trillions of American tax dollars in Iraq for their oil and war profiteering, China and Russia were conducting allied military exercises together. How ignorant our government and our people are. We've lost our title as a superpower because we allowed the wool to be pulled over our eyes by evil special interests in our homeland.
I have never forgot Mao and the red guards. China is a Communist country and if the Americans want to forget it, then get ready to pay their consequences, And it wont be pretty. This is my country and if the present administration wants to sell out to China then I say lets have a vote. All the losers become slaves and the winners take over the jobs vacated by the losers. Fair deal and then all the losers call back all the factories and jobs they sent overseas and the losers saleries will be taxed triple to make up for the miseries caused by the greedy ones before-hand.
He says “That's good. We're not going to hang him out to dry politically while he's here, which would be disastrous,” says Robert Kapp, a China trade and business consultant."
Really, and what they are doing to our economy now is not disasterous? Of course, we shoul;d just continue playing the patsy until we finally achieve third world status. Good call. Given his job, you think maybe he has a less than neutral interest.
We all knew that China would be the world super power years ago when our politicians started selling us out and lining their pockets with unequal wealth. Now the tipping point is here ! All we can do is sit back and watch the melt down !
I don't think that the US is in any position to give China advice on how they do business just after the near collapse of the US economy due to the greed of Wall Street. American needs to first change it's value system of "get rich quick at the expense of other people". As an Asian man that grew up here in the US, I also advise that Americans also change the way they culturally view Asian men, as weak non-masculine men that are socially akward, when we are currently out competing our Western counterparts. I also think that the world is getting tired of nearly exclusive Western based leadership, now headed by the US, that for centuries have socially and economically exploited Asian nations and is now looking for new leadership to counterbalance the US and it's Western based allies. Face the painful truth, the US is a rapidly declining world power and will soon, within a century, will be outdone by Asian nations, headed by China.
Unless Corporate America and the US Govt take steps to "reshore" the millions of lost jobs over the past decade, we don't have a chance of economic recovery. Noone will be able to work, noone will be able to pay taxes, noone will be save, noone will be able to retire. Clearly, the capitalist model has some serious drawbacks, especially when the trade deficit has been so out of whack for so long. With all the B.S. that has taken place to cause the current Recession, I feel like flying the US flag upside down. Time for a revolution, in my opinion(!).
Premier Jiabao was wrong and that is our problem we are not "protectionist" we are giving or selling our country to China, Saudi Arabia, India and others. We need to stop sending our jobs overseas and stop supporting the world with our tax money. Why are we building roads in other countries when our are broken?? Buy American and support your country and its workers or we will all be slaves to foreign powers!
We continue to concentrate on quarterly returns while China is planning and investing for 2020 and beyond. They will do what is good for China...but why are we not doing what is good for the United States?
The writing is on the wall. We talk about democracy and human rights but we no longer criticize the Chinese government. Why? because they can stop buying our U.S. Treasury Bonds.
Reinstute the Taft Hartley act.
China Rising is opportunity for US and rest of the world. United states will be on top of everybody for so long time.
China is a sovereign nation, how on earth that anyone expect China to be obedient to America? On the contrary, American should look after themselves by putting lesser dependency on other nation's naturally resources, products, and cheap labors. Don't blame China, blame it on American business model, American mislead lifestyle, & on America's own government foreign policy.
Or it can dirt cheap labor.
There's nothing wrong with protectionism.
The word's been demonized by the short-sighted and those who benefit from irrational Free-Trade Agreements at the expense of their own countries.
The young, idealistic, naive business-class who champion Free Trade better be careful what they ask for.
They might just get it.
In which case only a microscopic few will dominate the many in ways they never imagined.
if RMB appreciate,there will be a huge diaster on Chinese Manufacturing industries, thousands of worker will lose their job, in such state of China,if these people lose job,they will get killed and whole country will collapse,this is a situation god can not take control.So pls keep it as it is.
Having China as your bank actually means China has to be nice to you – because if you default or decide not to pay your debt back, it hurts China more.
Kind of like the mortgage crisis – when many people could not or chose not to pay their mortgage to the banks.
they give us money we because there smart and weak we kick peoples ass for them because were tough and somewhat dumb. i think we can both succeed with this system
Let China into the world trade organization, we started the race to the bottom of our western standard of living. Capitalism is heading to its end game as the Communism did in the 1980's.
A new world order is in the making and no one know how it is going to turn out in this century.
Sure, I don't mean being sold out to – now owned by China. Thanks, corporations, and thank you, Federal government, for converting America from a Super Power to a Super Clunker.
China rising is absolutely to America's benefit. It brings out the best in America when we are being challenged.
Bye USA. It serves arrogant and lazy americans well. Lets see who is the boss now.
Thank you Ex President Bush ! No taxes for your wars and not taxes for the ubber-rich help this happen !
why is no one thinking at all about increasing production of natural gas powered automobiles. The cost has always been less expensive than gasoline, it is very clean burning, the technology has already been proven and natural gas powered cars are already on the road. The source of natural gas is right here in the USA and it would create jobs. I don't understand why no one is even talking about exploiting this natural resource.
It seems as if the reporter is blaming China for Steve Udden's job loss. But, understand that it is not like China is reaching over to America and stealing our jobs. Let's take a look at the corporate greed that has AMERICAN companies moving the factories and jobs overseas to increase their profits – without regard to their employees. THERE is where the problem is!
China is the beneficiary of American money, and American Corporations are the beneficiaries of cheap labor. But, let's not go blaming China on what is really a case of American corporate greed on the backs of their American employees.
Rising China
I am dependent upon China more than most Americans. For three of the past five years I have lived and worked in China because I can find no employment in the U.S..
Is the rise of China a good thing? For me it is. The Chinese show greater appreciation for American English teachers than America ever will. See you in Nanjing in September.
Obama and this current crop of democrats have destroyed more jobs in a much shorter period of time than the total that has ever been sent overseas. They have ensured debt and suffering for us, our children and our children's children all on the alter of creeping socolism.