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If China doesn’t like US economic policies …

Brad Setser | Mar 21, 2006

Maybe it should stop financing them.

Just a suggestion.

At least in my view, Chinese premier Wen's criticism of US economic policy - and US economic scape-goating -- would have a lot more credibility if China wasn't spending around $250b a year (10% of its GDP) resisting market pressure for China's exchange rate to appreciate. 

Because of that policy, China ends up financing a rather significant fraction of the US fiscal deficit (with Chinese purchases of Treasuries) and the US current account deficit (with Chinese purchases of US bonds, including mortgage backed securities).  In the process, it also masks the impact of bad US economic policies.  See my previous post.  Or Geithner's speech.

No doubt, there is plenty of blame to go around. 


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