1. If the Chinese are planning an international incident or even an act of aggression in the South China Sea it is likely they would unload US treasuries to make themselves less vulnerable.
2. If the Chinese are planning such an act, it is less likely in view of the impending visit of the premier, although considering the Oriental mind, it is possible that they are playing at the Art of War.
3. If the Chinese are selling US treasuries because they need the money because they are running out of stimulus at home to shore up a crashing economy, look out below around the world.
4. It may well be that China is not the monolithic unity that it appears i.e. those in control of monetary policy might not be acting in concert with those in charge of military policy and those two might not be coordinating with those in charge of diplomatic policy.
5. Retired Gen. Petreaus has been out of the intelligence loop for a long time and there is no reason to believe that he is any better informed than the average news consumer.
Good morning,
I think your numbers 3-5 are the likely answers. I’m re-reading “Aftershock” by Wiedemer, Wiedemer, and Spitzer. It was an NYT bestseller and acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal. They write that China is most likely the linchpin for global financial meltdown. If their economy goes over the cliff (there are some that think it already has; me among them) they can not export cheap goods, and will not need what we have (in the way of commodities and energy).
They write, “(Jim) Chanos noticed several years ago that property development in China was reaching unsustainable proportions. If the average Chinese couple makes a combined $8,000 or so a year, how can they afford condominiums that can easily cost up to $150,000? It didn’t add up. Most of this growth was driven by bad loans pushed by the government. In fact, Chanos found that many new apartment buildings stay empty and are flipped from speculator to speculator on the greater fool theory.”
We have seen this movie before - and it doesn’t end well!
I’m not generally a gloom and doom guy, but there are signs pointing to the USA going into free fall. I wish it weren’t so. Blame it on Shemitah, or the impending collapse (helped by China) of the dollar, and current debt of $18+ Trillion.
In sum, Petraeus speaks of things much greater than his current knowledge.
Gwjack