I.e., 16 years and counting.
But there are some good windfall. Did you know that a deal has been agreed to for the purchase of four Westinghouse reactors worth $8 Billion.
How much...in just one month... is the Chinese Government's INTEREST on the U.S. securities they hold?!
I.e., How much are WE paying for those reactors we are sending them? In effect...100%...
An honest person sees right through this charade of theirs.
I'm sure Paulson's meeting indirectly expedited that decision on the part of the Chinese.
Irrelevant window-dressing.
If they want to make a splash...they need to buy cars, ships, trains, planes, etc. $1 trillions worth. To start.
But even suddenly insitituting 50-50 fairness in trade is apparently completely out-of-the-question.
Don't be surprised when it's 36 years and counting. US/China relations are better today than they were 16 years ago.
I.e., How much are WE paying for those reactors we are sending them? In effect...100%...
Well, now, that would be foolish for the seller to pay. I doubt that is what is happening.
If they want to make a splash...they need to buy cars, ships, trains, planes, etc. $1 trillions worth. To start.
China is just less of a consumer society than the US. It isn't the only one either. From S. Korea to Taiwan, the level of consumerism is just less than the US.
There are alot of things the Chinese want to buy. Just as the US (and Japanese and European countries) have overseas holdings that number in the 100's of billions of dollars, the Chinese would like to do the same. Unfortunately, they are blocked at every turn. For a country with a trading volume that ranks amonst the world's power (expected to surpass Germany in a couple of years to become second largest), it is nowhere near any of the major players in overseas holdings. $17 or so billion would have been in US circulation if the Unocal deal had gone through. I'm sure China would buy out Ford or General Motors as well, but unlike Daimler buying out Chrysler (with absolutely no public discourse) , it'll only be a pipe dream for China.....for now.
Also, there is a slowly increasing trend of Chinese companies investing in America. It's not significant when compared to other foreign operations in America, but is slowly taking root. Your grand kids may someday work for a Chinese manager.
Ironically, there are disgruntled people in China about US/China trade (and I'm not talking about the communist types). They feel that America gets to invest in China but not the othe way around. They also feel that the level of technology transfer is not sufficient enough (whereas you feel it is too much). And they feel that China is giving away too much. They do want to buy American products, but they are definitely seeking to become an information society...... I'm sure they'd be willing to trade their textiles industries for companies like Microsoft, IBM, HP, Dell, Intel, Boeing, etc. I'm sure they would want to buy more slots at places like MIT, Cal Tech, and Stanford.
So you not really looking to just balance the trade, you're looking to balance the trade strictly through Chinese consumerism. And the Chinese may have a different path to balancing the trade.