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The Washington Times
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Chinese see U.S. debt as weapon in Taiwan dispute

Bill Gertz

China's military stepped up pressure on the United States on Monday by calling for a government sell-off of U.S. debt securities in retaliation for recent arms sales to Taiwan.

A group of senior Chinese military officers also said in state-controlled media interviews that Beijing's leaders should boost defense spending and expand force deployments in the wake of the Pentagon's announcement last month of a new $6.4 million arms package for the island state claimed by Beijing.

Senior officers from the Chinese National Defense University and Academy of Military Sciences made what some view as an economic warfare threat, something outlined in past military writings.

The comments by Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu and Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan and Senior Col. Ke Chunqiao appeared in the state-run Outlook Weekly magazine, part of the Xinhua News Agency, published in Beijing on Monday.

Gen. Luo warned that China could attack the U.S. "by oblique means and stealthy feints," and he called for retaliation for the arms sale.

"For example, we could sanction them using economic means, such as dumping some U.S. government bonds," Gen. Luo said.

"Our retaliation should not be restricted to merely military matters, and we should adopt a strategic package of counterpunches covering politics, military affairs, diplomacy and economics to treat both the symptoms and root cause of this disease," said Gen. Luo, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences.

China holds nearly $800 billion worth of Treasury debt securities. It is not clear what impact selling off some of the securities would have on the struggling U.S. economy. However, analysts say that selling off some bonds could drive up interest rates and disrupt U.S. economic recovery efforts.

At the State Department, spokesman P.J. Crowley dismissed the economic threat as potentially self-defeating. "That would be biting the nose to spite the face," Mr. Crowley said. "The economies of the United States and China are intertwined."

The Chinese military comments, however, reflect the contents of a 1999 book by two Chinese colonels called "Unrestricted Warfare," which called on the Chinese military to adopt unconventional methods and strategy in waging war, specifically both "financial" and "trade" war along with other forms of warfare.

The second officer, Gen. Zhu, said Monday that proposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan threatens Chinese military bases along the southern coast across the 100-mile Taiwan Strait. "This gives us no choice but to increase defense spending and adjust [military] deployments," said Gen. Zhu, who is with the National Defense University in Beijing.

Gen. Zhu made headlines in 2005 when he told reporters that China would use nuclear weapons to attack U.S. cities if the United States struck China with precision-guided conventional missiles.

The statement raised questions at the time among Pentagon officials over whether China had abandoned its stated policy of not being the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict. ....................>>>>........................>>>>.......................http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/10/chinese-see-us-debt-as-weapon/

So now that this administration has borrowed so much money from China our financial security is in danger if we don't do what China wants.

pretty sure it didn't just happen over the last year.

or did you mean our government in general?

Bush spent way too much money and now Obama has become Bush on steroids with the spending he's doing, yes government in general is out of control with their spending.

china owns us and we own china.....how many discount/dollar stores do we support in this town alone......I dont know who buys all that crap....

Senders, thanks for that comment.  That's where I wonder, or don't grasp as much.  I see companies in the U.S. closing their factories here and having the work done by employees working for Chinese companies.  Manufacturers want to make more profit and if they can pay a Chinese company $2.00 to produce one widget in China that would cost $20 to produce here in the U.S., they will do it.

Then there are the stores, like Walmart especially, who will look for the cheapest stuff to sell on their shelves, which of course fuels the demand for more manufacturing to be done in China.

And then we are stupid enough to buy the stuff because it's less out of our pocket.  We have $100 to spend, we will buy 20 shirts at $5.00 each made in China rather than only 5 shirts at $20 made in the USA at some other store.

Now, the term U.S. debt, does that mean our government "applies" for a loan from China in the same way we apply for a loan to buy our car?  Or is the debt something that results from the manufacturers having the work done there and retailers selling the stuff and us buying it.  Or is it a combination of a "loan" from them and these other things?

Quoted from mikechristine1

Senders, thanks for that comment.  That's where I wonder, or don't grasp as much.  I see companies in the U.S. closing their factories here and having the work done by employees working for Chinese companies.  Manufacturers want to make more profit and if they can pay a Chinese company $2.00 to produce one widget in China that would cost $20 to produce here in the U.S., they will do it.

Then there are the stores, like Walmart especially, who will look for the cheapest stuff to sell on their shelves, which of course fuels the demand for more manufacturing to be done in China.

And then we are stupid enough to buy the stuff because it's less out of our pocket.  We have $100 to spend, we will buy 20 shirts at $5.00 each made in China rather than only 5 shirts at $20 made in the USA at some other store.

Now, the term U.S. debt, does that mean our government "applies" for a loan from China in the same way we apply for a loan to buy our car?  Or is the debt something that results from the manufacturers having the work done there and retailers selling the stuff and us buying it.  Or is it a combination of a "loan" from them and these other things?

The problem is, China is starting to grow enough where they can sell their products in China. What happens when they can sell that 5.00 shirt to us or internally for 4 dollars?  Walmart and Foreign Oil have milked almost every dime out of this country.  We are not competitive in the world anymore.  

There in lies the problem, the USA can't produce a product that can compete with the cost of products from India, China, Korea, or Taiwan because of all the costs placed by our government thru the EPA, OSHA, taxes, and also the higher cost of union jobs and benefits. It's hard to export anything to any country when the cost of your product is 3 times that of those produced by other countries.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE61402H20100205

I guess that's about the best we can export right now .. Chicken feet and wings.

Yes, I was in the market the other day - they actually have packages (1# I believe) of "Chicken feet".  The most disgusting thing I've ever seen in the meat counter.

Quoted from 147

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE61402H20100205

I guess that's about the best we can export right now .. Chicken feet and wings.

Yes, I was in the market the other day - they actually have packages (1# I believe) of "Chicken feet".  The most disgusting thing I've ever seen in the meat counter.

You must have been at the Price Chopper on Altamont Ave.

Quoted from Shadow

There in lies the problem, the USA can't produce a product that can compete with the cost of products from India, China, Korea, or Taiwan because of all the costs placed by our government thru the EPA, OSHA, taxes, and also the higher cost of union jobs and benefits. It's hard to export anything to any country when the cost of your product is 3 times that of those produced by other countries.

OK, let's get rid of OSHA, and the heck if employees get hurt on the job, or if employees get diseases, or if employees die.  Employee safety should be non-existent.  Paying employees a wage or salary with wich they can pay their bills, forget it, people should bust their hump for 60 hours a week and if they still can't put a roof over their heads, too bad, let them go homeless.  Benefits?  Now why should employees be hable to have insurance so that they can get medical attention?  Pensions, get rid of them, people should save themselves, oh, wait, they can't even afford to pay their rent on the low pay.  Oh well, Live your retirement in poverty, if you can even make it to retirement, because you aren't going to have health insurance so you won't be able to afford medical attention.   Get rid of the EPA, GE should have never been stopped from dumping PCB's in the Hudson, manufacturers should be able to be allowed to dump anything poisonous in the river, in a lake, or anywhere they choose - get rid of the EPA.  

And why should we have rules that prohibit lead and cadmium in our children's toys, so what if our children ingest that stuff.

Remember when stuff was made in this country and it was quality and lasted a long time.  Buy the same thing today, made in China and you have to buy the same thing in another year or two.  My sister has a Chatty Cathy doll and a Suzy Smart doll.  They still work.  Talking dolls today, you'd be lucky if it outlasts your duaghter's "doll stage" of her life, which doesn't last nearly as long as that stage did for those over 40 or 50 today.

Don't get me wrong MC I like the standard of living that we all enjoy but we're going to have to find something to produce that the rest of the world wants to buy or we're in big trouble. GE couldn't sell any gas turbines once other countries started to make them cheaper and most of our products are produced overseas. USA companies moved overseas in order to compete with the rest of the world. The President says we're going to pay down our debt by doubling our exports but what are we going to sell cheaper than China does?

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Originally published 06:29 a.m., February 14, 2010, updated 11:34 a.m., February 14, 2010
U.S. debt threatens to be overwhelming

Tom Raum ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's bad enough that Greece's debt problems have rattled global financial markets. In the world's largest economic and military power, there's a far more serious debt dilemma.

For the U.S., the crushing weight of its debt threatens to overwhelm everything the federal government does, even in the short-term, best-case financial scenario -- a full recovery and a return to prerecession employment levels.

The government already has made so many promises to so many expanding "mandatory" programs. Just keeping these commitments, without major changes in taxing and spending, will lead to deficits that cannot be sustained..............>>>>..................>>>>...............http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/14/us-debt-will-keep-growing-even-recovery/