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China gloats as meltdown continues on Wall Street
Evening Standard 18 Sep 2008
China is using the Wall Street meltdown to assert its independence and gloat over US mistakes.
Officials say the “financial tsunami” means the world must consider building a financial order no longer dependent on the US.
Former central bank Deputy Governor Wu Xiaoling said US regulators had failed to manage the risks and China needs to learn the lessons to avoid its own meltdown.
“The US crisis today would be China's tomorrow if financial products such as securitisation are introduced without proper risk-control measures,” Wu said.
China has resisted pressure from US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to open its financial system more quickly and add new products.
“Now is the time for the Chinese to say you didn't do it quite right either',” said David Cohen at Action Economics in Singapore.
“The world is very dependent on China to help cushion the downturn.”
Wu's comments follow an article in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, that said: “The world urgently needs to create a diversified currency and financial system and fair and just financial order that is not dependent on the United States.”
Reader views (2)
China might gloat, but reduced spending power in the West will impact China just as much as ourselves.
-- unless their (and our) arch rivals in India and Russia take up the slack - this seems unlikely.
China's advantage is they can keep their population under control under they get really hungry !
- Cap, london, uk, 18/09/2008 16:00
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“The world urgently needs to create a diversified currency and financial system and fair and just financial order that is not dependent on the United States.” This is a reasonabe comment. Hardly gloating. Of course such a financial system should not be dependent on China either.
- J.V.Healy, London UK, 18/09/2008 12:51
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