Posted on 03/23/2006 3:57:28 AM PST by John Filson
-- Beijing politely rolled out the red carpet this week as two leading U.S. senators began a fact-finding mission to determine how to punish China for manipulating its currency. But half a world away in Geneva, China's delegate to the World Trade Organization lobbed a rhetorical bomb at the United States, accusing Washington of hyping national security concerns to restrict foreign investment on its home turf.
"By interpreting and applying WTO national security clauses in an excessive way, [the United States] has again seriously undermined the credibility of the multilateral trade regime, over which China is highly concerned," Chinese WTO envoy Sun Zhenyu told his fellow ambassadors yesterday.
The comments appeared to be directed at U.S. political backlash that helped kill a bid last year by China's CNOOC Ltd. to acquire Unocal Corp., a Houston-based U.S. oil and gas producer.
"Recently the United States exerted pressure and imposed restrictions on inward [foreign direct investment] on account of national security, which prevent foreign companies from seeking mergers and acquisitions [there]," Mr. Sun added.
The verbal attack, which coincides with the release of a WTO report on U.S. trade policy, marks the latest flashpoint of an increasingly strained relationship between the two economic and military giants.
China wasn't alone in warning about rising protectionist tendencies in the United States. In comments filed yesterday with the WTO, the European Union urged the United States to strike "a better balance" between security concerns and avoiding "unnecessary and costly burdens" to legitimate business.
Responding to the criticism, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said the Bush administration is "cognizant of the potential for protectionism in the U.S. and we are actively communicating the real world benefits of trade at home." But he pointed out that United States hardly has a monopoly on anti-trade tactics.
"Economic isolationism . . . is not just a phenomenon in the United States," Mr. Portman said in a statement released in Washington.
The recent furor over the proposed takeover of several East Coast ports by Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates has caused concern that the United States may be turning increasingly inward as it wages a global war on terrorism.
In the United States, critics blame China for stealing U.S. jobs and pushing the trade deficit to record levels by keeping the value of its currency, the yuan, artificially low. Last July, China raised the value of the yuan by 2.1 per cent and introduced a system to gradually move the currency away from its peg to the U.S. dollar. But the currency has barely moved since.
In Beijing, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the next couple of months could be a defining period in U.S.-China relations.
"Our goal is to let the Chinese government realize that the politics of this issue is about to get out of hand," warned Mr. Graham, co-author of a bill with Democrat Charles Schumer that would slap a 27.5-per-cent tariff on all Chinese imports. He said the senators are stressing to leaders in Beijing that "if you think the relations between our two countries are good, you're misreading the tea leaves back home [in the U.S.]. They're not good, and they're getting worse."
Mr. Graham and Mr. Schumer have said they want to push for a vote on the widely popular legislation as early as this month. The senators were slated to meet yesterday with Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China.
The Congressional vote could be the first dust-up in the prelude to next month's U.S. visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao. The White House confirmed yesterday that Mr. Hu would meet U.S. President George W. Bush on April 20.
That's just five days after the U.S. Treasury Department is slated to release a report on whether to officially brand China a currency manipulator -- the first step in imposing sanctions.
Although largely drowned out by the politicians, U.S. business leaders have appealed for calm in the escalating dispute. Caterpillar Inc. chairman Jim Owens warned Congress not to be seduced by tariffs and other retaliatory measures against the Chinese.
"A technique called asymmetric warfare. And the so-called Americans like the CEO of Caterpillar Inc, are soldiers fighting for the chinese side."
I'd imagine he's just bowing to pressure to push Cat stock up in the short-run. When it blows up he'll get the axe, and probably a nice golden-parachute. The big-boys will pull out of the stock before it tanks, and all the American workers who've poured their heart & soul into Caterpillar over the years will either end up laid-off or taking huge hits on their compensation.
"Tony Blair also made a fairly hawkish speech last night (posted at FR.) That's probably a secondary factor."
Blair has some serious domestic troubles ATM from my understanding. Scotland Yard peeking up his kilt.
And to you too. Two tours is to be more than admired. A friend of mine I grew up with General J. Emory Mace served three tours. His daughter Nancy Mace was the first graduate from the Citadel In SC. You might remember the controversy in 1997. Most people don't know it was his daughter. The Army said, your daughter, your mess, you're the new Commandant, clean it up. You never heard anything more. He would hunt and fight rather than eat.
Simply not true. It fairly easy for a small business to start in China or Indonesia. I know many who have done so in the furniture business. Big business has many more details to hash out and is more complicated. Believe me they welcome investment and business. They put on the biggest trade show and business event in the world every year. Business is not government, there is nothing more capitalistic than a young Chinese with some capital seeking capital. Most business despises politics.
They don't. Most of China's new business is private. Such as Boeing. Its owned by stockholders not the Chinese government.
I was talking about the ability of US companies to export product into the Chinese market, and keep Americans employed...
Not our ability to throw money at them, and put American factories out of business. I'm sure they welcome investment. They don't welcome competition.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2004 Contact:
Victoria Park (Washington, DC): 202-482-3809
Mary Brown Brewer (Beijing): (86) 139-1189-7150
Commerce Under Secretary Aldonas Launches New Tools to Help U.S.
Small and Medium-Size Exporters Take Advantage of China's Growing Market
China Business Information Center provides U.S. firms with "one-stop shopping" for exporting; American Trade Centers will help U.S. firms compete for infrastructure projects
BEIJING, China - In China with a delegation of U.S. manufacturers led by National Association of Manufacturers president Jerry Jasinowski, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Grant Aldonas today unveiled new tools to help U.S. companies expand exports to China's growing market - the China Business Information Center, American Trade Centers and the Global Supply Chain Initiative. According to U.S. Commerce Department trade statistics, through June of this year, U.S. exports to China are up 36 percent over the same period last year, making China one of the fastest-growing U.S. export markets, and the sixth-largest U.S. export market overall. Last year, China's worldwide imports increased by more than 40 percent.
"Free and fair trade helps create jobs at home by opening foreign markets to American exports, but one of the biggest hurdles U.S. small and medium-size companies (SMEs) face in trying to export to China is a lack of information," said Aldonas. "Eighty-six percent of all U.S. firms exporting to China are small and medium-size enterprises, and these new resources are part of the Bush administration's commitment to helping smaller firms expand exports and create new jobs for Americans."
Boeing and China -- the Early Years
Ties between Boeing and China began early. In 1916, the year of the company's founding, William E. Boeing hired Beijing-born Wang Zhu to design a new seaplane, the Model C, for the U.S. Navy.
Wang had just graduated in aeronautical engineering from Armstrong Technical College in London and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. His work with The Boeing Company laid the groundwork for a generation of new airplanes.
China is not only distinguished in Boeing's history for having contributed its first engineer hired by the Compnay. In 1935, China became the first country outside the United States to receive a Boeing field service representative.
On March 29, 1939, Pan American Airways began trans-Pacific service to Hong Kong using Boeing 314 Clipper seaplanes. A number of Douglas Dolphins, DC-2s and DC-3s also operated in China in the 1930s and 1940s.
Private airline launches 1st flight(2005/03/12)
2002 is not 2006
Private Airlines Bring Fierce Competition in Aviation Industry
The influx of non-government capital to the civil aviation industry has resulted in the establishment of 14 non-state airline companies in China, which has helped break the state monopoly of the aviation market.
Dongxing Airlines based in Shanghai, one of the companies established five months ago, has signed an agreement for leasing and buying 20 Airbus aircraft at a cost of 12 billion yuan (US$148 million).
Also in Shanghai, the Spring and Autumn Airlines said that during July to October last year alone, the company carried 74,552 passengers with only one plane operating 436 flights.
"Our occupancy rate reached 95 percent," said Wang Zhenghua, president of the company.
While the non-state airlines are seeking to increase the number of craft and flights, Okay, which made the "maiden voyage" of the non-state airlines, said it would put an eye on cargo transportation.
All this has triggered fierce competition among Chinese airlines and helped improve their services, observers say.
China's three major airline groups have felt the pressure, not only from the fear of declining market share, but also the fact that their pilots are leaving for the non-state competitors.
However, Yang Yuanyuan, director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, said the government will continue the policy of opening the aviation market.
The ultimate goal for the reform of China's civil aviation industry is to make air travel available to more ordinary Chinese, said the pilot-turned official.
"The pressure from non-state airlines will become the top driving force for state-owned airlines to make improvements," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2006)
These numbers are in current dollars. If you want to be accurate, you should use a source with constant dollars.
It took China about 10 with generous help from "free traders" in the white house and Congress and the American taxpayer.
In the real world, 1982 until 2002 is 20 years, not 10.
So who really is winning?
Not your poor math teacher.
Dont forget the cost of living will spike itself to a record high. Wal Mart helps you save a few pennies, But No Wal Mart helps you spend your savings. Which is better? Having more money or barely any. Plus if we didnt have any Wal Mart, Wal Mart would probably move to Mexico and invite US shoppers for a bit of Cross Border Shopping (While picking up a few Mexican Hitchhikers)
Hedgetrimmer says: 1982 to 2002 is 10 years. Too dumb to subtract?
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