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To: elmatador who wrote (54345)	10/25/2004 12:48:48 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

>>3) Dollar will go down<< Maybe you should say "dollar will go down more" <vbg>

To: elmatador who wrote (54345)	10/25/2004 3:09:58 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 74559

>>1) he'll will press the switch "protectionism" in the steering wheel of homeland cockpit. The chinese had better have some counter measures up their sleeve.<< I think Kerry is just bluffing<g>. If he indeed wins, he will have to be friendly to China like Bush does. ========================================= The failure of China-bashing in US elections By Fan Gang Sunday, Oct 24, 2004,Page 8 With China's rapid growth increasingly affecting a wide range of issues worldwide, it has become expedient for US presidential candidates to blame China for some domestic problems in the US. But in this year's US presidential election campaign, China-bashing has been virtually non-existent. There are good reasons for this welcome change. China has found itself a frequent target of populist demagoguery. Its exchange-rate regime, which pegs the yuan to the US dollar, has been blamed for the mounting US trade deficit. Never mind that America's bilateral trade deficit with China, even including Hong Kong, accounts for less than one-fifth of the total US deficit. Growing imports from China and more direct investment by US companies have supposedly fueled US unemployment. The jobs issue has been further exploited by citing poor working conditions, low wages, child labor and other problems commonly found in developing countries. Attacking a communist country has always seemed to offer US politicians a convenient way to appeal to the average voter. After all, most US voters can be trusted not to understand how other countries -- let alone countries in the Far East -- really work. But this time, President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry both know that it would be unwise to bash China too hard. US companies and the entire US economy have a huge stake in China now, so both candidates have no interest in rocking the boat. A candidate may promise more anti-dumping actions against Chinese goods, vow to press harder on China to change its exchange rate regime, or sharpen criticism of China's weak enforcement of intellectual property rights; but too much protectionism may make a candidate look irresponsible this year. Indeed, protectionism can do nothing to reduce the US trade deficit and stanch domestic unemployment. No matter how much politicians blame other countries, growing US imports mean greater reliance on international markets, and some China factor in America's investment portfolio is needed to compete against European and Japanese firms. There is no hiding these facts from US voters now. Bush failed to honor his anti-Chinese protectionist campaign promises of 2000, as did former US President Bill Clinton throughout his term. Any China-bashing and protectionist pleas this time around will most likely ring just as hollow. Moreover, China's geopolitical importance to the US has grown immensely since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. At least for now, engaging China in the global fight against terrorism is in America's interest. China does have some common interests in fighting Islamic extremist terrorism, and it did not try to block America's path to the Iraqi war in the UN Security Council. China has also been cooperating constructively with the US and its allies in dealing with North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Of course, the US still wants to contain China and prevent it from becoming a major regional and world power. But that remains a long-term strategic goal, not the stuff of presidential campaigns, especially when China seems too weak to pose any immediate threat to the US on any front in the foreseeable future. China has never been a positive factor in US politics, so from its perspective, the less it is mentioned in this US election season, the better. The relative silence about China in the US these days may be due merely to the Iraq war and post-war situation still dominating the news. Yet it may also indicate that US political elites are in the process of facing up to new realities and adjusting their view of China accordingly. Fan Gang is professor of economics at Beijing University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. taipeitimes.com

To: elmatador who wrote (54345)	10/25/2004 5:15:26 PM
From: Taikun	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

Elmatador, The #1 thing I hope for after the election is the US President spends more time on the US economy than on Iraq, Iran, N. Korea. It is time to leave the job of the global cop to the bellyaching politicians in Canada, France, Germany, Spain etc. The US has to get its house in order. I don't know what it will take to refocus the President. Whether is be a bigger drop in the dollar, $100 oil, a financial crisis, market meltdown or protectionism it really doesn't matter, as far as I'm concerned. The situation the US is in is unsustainable. The sooner the focus moves to the US economy the safer the world will be, because the US has finite resources and if this is what it takes to convert one Middle East country to a Democracy we don't have a big enough war chest to do them all. Time to pass the baton to those omnipotent Continental Europeans! So go out and sell more of your US stocks, short more dollars, buy more gold and do your part at being Patriotic. If we inflict enough pain maybe the President will notice. This is the vote we must make. David