美国领导人应该给中国发一封感谢信,因为中国的经济放缓以及中国延缓了美国全球霸主地位的衰退。
自1970年以来,美国的全球影响力在稳步下降。由于种种原因:先是日本的崛起,成为世界第二大经济体;然后是中国的崛起,超过了日本,成为全球第二大经济体。
中国占全球出口量的比重增加:从1990年代初的2%,升至2014年的12%;而美国的比例从1970年代初约14%降至2014年的8.5%。
但是,根据美国约翰霍普金斯大学教授孔诰烽的说法,如果不是中国对美元作为全球货币的支持,美国的主导地位可能下滑得更快。
中国一直是美国国债的一个主要买家,而美国国债支持了美元的霸主地位,以及保持美国的出口运作。在2008至09年金融危机之后,中国成为美国国债全球最大的买家,情况尤为如此。
“虽然中国拥有地缘政治的自主性,理论上使得中国能够结束对美元的依赖,甚至能够结束美元本位;现实中,中国出口导向型的增长模式令中国对购买美国国债有着不可挟制的瘾好,从而一直在帮助延续美元本位。”(《中国的繁荣:为什么中国不会统治世界》,纽约哥伦比亚大学出版社2016年出版)。 “中国能切断对美国国债这种瘾好唯一的办法是脱离出口导向型模式,但这不会在短期内发生。”
在此期间,中国不得不继续购买美国国债,这支持了普通美国人过着更高标准的生活方式,同时帮助美元仍是全球最强的货币。
(本文译自《福布斯》2016年1月2日发表的Panos Mourdoukoutas的评论文章,题为“美国领导人应给中国发感谢信”。)
-----------------------原文:
American Leaders Should Send A Thank You Note To China
As America is getting ready for another Presidential campaign, its leaders should send a thank you note to China–for slowing down and delaying the decline of US global dominance.
Since the 1970s, America’s global influence is on a steady decline. For all sorts of reasons: first came the rise of Japan, which became the world’s second largest economy. Then came the rise of China, which surpassed Japan to become the World’s second largest economy.
China’s share of world’s exports increased from 2% in the early 1990s to 12% in 2014, while that of the US dropped from around 14% in the early 1970s to 8.5% in 2014.
But the decline of US dominance could have been much faster if it wasn’t for China’s support of the dollar as global currency, according to John Hopkins Professor Ho-fung Hung.
China has been a major buyer of US Treasuries — supporting the dominance of the US dollar, and keeping its export machine in the process. This was especially true in the aftermath of the 2008-9 financial crisis, when China became the world’s largest buyer of US Treasuries.
“Though China has the geopolitical autonomy that theoretically enables it to end its dependence on the dollar and even to end the dollar standard, in reality it has been helping perpetuate the standard—through its insurmountable addiction to U.S. Treasury bonds as the new opium stemming from its export-driven model of growth,”(The China Boom: Why China Won’t Rule The World, New York, Columbia University Press, 2016). ”The only way that China can cut off this addiction to U.S debt is to shift away from its export-driven model, which is not going to happen anytime soon.”
In the meantime, China has to continue to buy US Treasuries, supporting a higher lifestyle for the average American, while helping the greenback remain the world’s strongest currency。
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2016/01/02/american-leaders-should-send-a-thank-you-note-to-china/