"China's promise not to devalue the yuan won praise from the United
States on Thursday. "
Ben, IMO we are entering a beginning of a new era Dominated by China and USA, that is untill China finds it no longer necessary. All
hupla in USA congress about trade surpluss and human rights are now
less relevant to China. The genee is out of the bottle they have tasted power...I hope that a new pragmatic generation waiting in
pipeline would know what to do with power..
I am getting extremely bullish on industrial explosion that will dwarfs what we have seen...Within five years there will be more computers in China than in Europe (small number considering
population of 1 bln... This is a crucial "crisis" that would propel China to the superpower status..Chinese have everything to win and little to loose...HK will be decoupled as it is no longer important
and will signify end of crisis, nobody would care than...
infoseek.com
China shows ambition, savvy in Asian crisis
02:56 p.m Jan 15, 1998 Eastern
By Paul Eckert
BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Asia's economic meltdown has given China a
rare chance to play regional leader, and Beijing has keenly embraced the
role for reasons of pride, politics and self-interest, analysts said on
Thursday.
Often aloof and clumsy in regional affairs, China has shown sensitivity
and skill in its response to the crisis, the analysts said.
There is a sense of national pride that a former ''sick man of Asia''
has fought off the region's economic ills and is in a position to help
others.
''This is a chance for China to push itself a little bit further onto
the world stage and show off the fact that it escaped relatively
unscathed,'' said an Asian diplomat.
China's promise not to devalue the yuan won praise from the United
States on Thursday.
Visiting U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said in Beijing
the pledge ''was the most important contribution China could make to
stability in Asia.''
China is sensitive about its image in a region suspicious about its
growing economic clout, and Beijing has rejected accusations it provoked
the current crisis.
Some economists in the region argue that a 33 percent devaluation of the
yuan in 1994 swamped Asian export markets with cheap Chinese products.
Beijing has responded by saying Southeast Asia's woes stem from
home-grown structural problems and fiscal irresponsibility.
China donated $1 billion to an International Monetary Fund bail-out for
Thailand last year -- stepping in while the United States held back --
and has hinted it will join a rescue plan for Indonesia.
China's approach has been contrasted favourably with the feeble response
from Japan, which has been absorbed with its own economic problems. The
United States has also come under criticism for doing too little, too
late.
''China very much sees itself as a superpower-in-waiting and is grooming
itself politically and economically for when that time comes,'' said a
western diplomat.
The People's Daily, China's ruling party organ, played on Asian
resentments with an editorial last week accusing Washington of ''forcing
East Asia into submission'' with its harsh prescriptions for economic
retrenchment.
American compliments to China for its assurances on the currency
underscore a warming in Sino-U.S. ties following a summit in Washington
last October.
U.S. President Bill Clinton is expected to strengthen the rapprochement
with a state visit to China later this year.
China is seeking U.S. support for its entry into the World Trade
Organisation, and one diplomat said Beijing's cooperation during the
Asian crisis ''builds an atmosphere that certainly doesn't hurt'' its
cause.
Analysts said China was spurred into action by arch-rival Taiwan wading
in to the crisis with offers of aid.
''The Chinese are getting very concerned about Taiwan using its reserves
to rush about the region offering money and they think they'd better be
seen getting involved,'' said the Asian diplomat.
But analysts agreed that Beijing's keenest concerns were domestic. It
feared disastrous unemployment and instability if Asia's problems
triggered a global slowdown.
The Western diplomat said Beijing's recent reassuring gestures showed it
had absorbed savvy public relations advice from Hong Kong since it
regained sovereignty over the former British colony last July.
''They are listening to people in Hong Kong who are serving as mentors
and suggesting what are appropriate cards to play that will make China
look good,'' the diplomat said.
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
