Monday, October 07, 2013

China Tells US to Put it Right

American pundits sneered at President Valdimir Putin for suggesting America was not the world's exceptional nation. China, the United State's biggest creditor, has put it more bluntly: end the partisan deadlock over the budget and credit limit. Chinese vice-foreign minister, Zhu Guangyao, said the "clock is ticking" on extending the federal government's credit limit before it runs out of cash on October 17th. He publicly urged Congress to put its fiscal house in order to prevent a technical US default and endangering the safety of Chinese investments in the United States. The US lost its AAA bond rating after a similar deadlock in 2011.  China became the United States number one creditor, surpassing Japan, in 2008. It holds an estimated $1.3 trillion in US government bonds and $3.5 trillion in dollar denominated assets. Whether House Speaker John Boehner will pay attention to the Chinese is doubtful since he said on Sunday, it is "time for us to stand and fight" over the budget. The latest budget deadlock has entered its seventh day.  The Current Occupant was forced to cancel his appearance at the Asian economic summit over the impasse leaving the stage free for China to dominate. The old saying, money talks and BS walks, is applicable in this situation.