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The China That Can Say 'No
IBD Editorials ^ | May 26, 2010 | Investors Business Daily staff

Posted on 05/26/2010 6:03:50 PM PDT by Kaslin

Diplomacy: When the U.S. sends its top diplomat and No. 1 economic official to the same country at the same time, it expects results. By that measure, our high-level overture to China this week was a big disappointment.

The trip of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to China this week can only be called a diplomatic failure.

The U.S. has several things on its plate right now that require Chinese cooperation. They include help in financing our soaring debt, which on Wednesday passed $13 trillion for the first time, and getting North Korea, a Chinese client state, to stop threatening South Korea. We also need China's backing for stiffer sanctions against Iran for developing a nuclear weapon.

So what did our high-profile demarche accomplish? Not much. Quoting Chinese officials who could barely contain their gloating, Time magazine observed:

"Not only has Beijing watered down the (Iran) sanctions to be adopted by the Security Council in order to ensure they don't restrain China from expanding its already massive economic ties with Iran .. . (but) their government also won undertakings from Washington to exempt Chinese companies from any U.S. unilateral sanctions" for doing business with Iran.

Help with the North Korean crisis also would've been nice. Two-thirds of North Korea's energy and more than half of its food come from China, and China could use its enormous influence to bring Kim Jong Il's rebel regime to heel. But Bloomberg News says Beijing is now likely to "shield" North Korea from pressure by the U.S., South Korea and Japan.

When we sent both Clinton and Geithner to China, it should have signaled that we were quite serious about getting something in return. Instead, they left "empty-handed," as the India Times put it.

(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: beijing; china; clinton; geithner; hillaryclinton; iran; korea; northkorea; obama; southkorea; timgeithner

1 posted on 05/26/2010 6:03:50 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

As soon as China decides to not fund our debt — it is over for the U.S. Period.


2 posted on 05/26/2010 6:06:28 PM PDT by Jerrybob
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To: Jerrybob

It’s just a matter of time. They’ll probably be able to get Taiwan in exchange for holding our debt for a couple of more years. Maybe even S. Korea, but, ultimately, they’re going to put the screws to the USA. Rest assured.


3 posted on 05/26/2010 6:22:50 PM PDT by Gapplega
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To: Kaslin

North Korea is more than a client state of China. They have more of a Father-Son relationship. China has been protecting NK from the beginning. Remember 1950 when Chinese troops came flooding across the Yaloo (sp)and essentially took the lead in their war against US, ROK and others. Ever since overtly and covertly they have been holding up NK.


4 posted on 05/26/2010 6:33:00 PM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies.)
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To: Jerrybob

Yeah, but it will also be over for the Chinese.


5 posted on 05/26/2010 6:35:16 PM PDT by glorgau
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To: glorgau

Yeah, but it will also be over for the Chinese.
Don’t bet on it. It may got tough on the Chinese people, but the leadership will control a lot of the worlds resources.


6 posted on 05/26/2010 6:46:13 PM PDT by steveab (When was the last time someone tried to sell you a CO2 induced climate control system for your home?)
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To: steveab

>>>Yeah, but it will also be over for the Chinese.
>>>>>>Don’t bet on it. It may got tough on the Chinese people, but the leadership will control a lot of the worlds resources.

I think China will overplay its hand and the crippling of the U.S. financially would play out just as it did for the Japanese at the start of WWII: It blew up in their faces (or should I say ‘in two of their places’). China’s population is not necessarily an advantage militarily.


7 posted on 05/26/2010 7:05:32 PM PDT by Hop A Long Cassidy
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To: Kaslin

8 posted on 05/26/2010 9:31:36 PM PDT by jiggyboy (Ten per cent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: Kaslin

I haven’t yet seen a single successful “mission” of the State Department’s attempts under the Obama Regime, when dealing with any foreign country, and that includes Obama’s hosting of foreigners and his trips abroad. ....The rest of the world is laughing at the US and its current Pres__ent. ........We’re in deep S__T if our politics don’t begin making a U-turn in 2010 to override the image of weakness that Obama and his cohorts have projected.


9 posted on 05/27/2010 2:59:34 AM PDT by octex
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To: steveab
Don’t bet on it. It may got tough on the Chinese people, but the leadership will control a lot of the worlds resources.

Can you name a single global Chinese brand?

10 posted on 05/27/2010 5:52:44 AM PDT by Poison Pill
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To: Poison Pill
Can you name a single global Chinese brand?

Haier?
11 posted on 05/27/2010 7:09:52 AM PDT by kevin_in_so_cal
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To: Poison Pill

“Can you name a single global Chinese brand”

Don’t confuse natural resources with retail goods. The Chinese are not over in Africa for their health.


12 posted on 05/27/2010 6:34:54 PM PDT by steveab (When was the last time someone tried to sell you a CO2 induced climate control system for your home?)
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To: Kaslin

The new paradigm: Speak softly and carry a wet dishrag.


13 posted on 05/27/2010 6:44:33 PM PDT by Western Phil
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To: steveab
Don’t confuse natural resources with retail goods. The Chinese are not over in Africa for their health.

I work with the Chinese every day. They are as F'ed up as Hogan's goat. They won't be taking over the world anytime soon. Commodities are a low margin business. The best they can hope for buying commodities is to hedge their dollar current surplus. And if we have a sustained peroid of deflation that will backfire bigtime. As far as Africa goes, if push came to shove, the Chicoms couldn't protect 10K mile supply line.

14 posted on 05/27/2010 8:10:07 PM PDT by Poison Pill
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To: Poison Pill

They are as F’ed up as Hogan’s goat.
What are they f’ed up with?


15 posted on 05/27/2010 8:50:35 PM PDT by steveab (When was the last time someone tried to sell you a CO2 induced climate control system for your home?)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...
Thanks Kaslin.
Time magazine observed: "Not only has Beijing watered down the (Iran) sanctions to be adopted by the Security Council in order to ensure they don't restrain China from expanding its already massive economic ties with Iran .. . (but) their government also won undertakings from Washington to exempt Chinese companies from any U.S. unilateral sanctions" for doing business with Iran... Two-thirds of North Korea's energy and more than half of its food come from China, and China could use its enormous influence to bring Kim Jong Il's rebel regime to heel. But Bloomberg News says Beijing is now likely to "shield" North Korea from pressure by the U.S., South Korea and Japan. When we sent both Clinton and Geithner to China, it should have signaled that we were quite serious about getting something in return. Instead, they left "empty-handed," as the India Times put it.

16 posted on 05/28/2010 5:29:46 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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