Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Feud in Washington risks US credit

October 17th witnesses the deadline on US debt but there are still no signs that Republicans and Democrats will make a compromise. Therefore the rest of the world can only draw confidence from the perception that US political games would work out at the last moment based on past experience. However, suspicion is on the rise this time because the White House shutdown will probably continue to exert gloomy influence in the foreseeable future, even if the two parties reach an agreement in the end. The Xinhua News Agency published a comment calling for the international community to consider "de-Americanization" a few days ago, arousing high alert among US public opinion. However, Americans can not blame Xinhua for its remarks since the unrelibility of the US has been prompting other countries to ponder how to escape its negative impact. Republicans and Democrats are putting on "a democratic show" to the whole world like dancing on a wire rope. But other nations are still able to sense something wrong in the inter-party feuds within Washington as the deadlock over Obamacare has already exposed profound defects in US institutions. What's more, the once powerful nation, which now sees declining wealth-creating capacity, ushers in a period of "multiple contradictions" that its reputedly strong politics can hardly rein in. Once a default occurs on the US national debt, China will be in the forefront as its biggest creditor and suffer far more losses if the White House makes the default a long-term conundrum. Nevertheless, the US government is undergoing more losses than China, at least for now, since its credit will be stricken in a catastrophic way throughout the world. As a consequence, it will have to increase its financing cost drastically with descending political appeal. If Washington is stable in both politics and economy, a default will never take place and the rest of the world will not show any concern. If the US is indeed not able to pay off the debt due to various reasons, the political fighting in Washington would be a clear signal that the US is heading toward collapse. Americans are supposed to take the comment on "de-Americanization" as an alarm bell. They must note that the US has gradually been falling out of its position as a "superpower" by being opportunistic and greedy. An increasing number of countries in the world have shown discontent and even boredom toward it. While preserving the right to avoid being affected by the US debt crisis, China hopes that Washington will make positive contribution to the renewed world order in the 21st century as a healthy superpower. Whether Republicans and Democrats can reach a compromise, which is key to the world at large, is a highlight today. We are unwilling to see the bankruptcy in the US national credit.

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