A number of great import
China has the world’s biggest trade deficit—in services
NOT long ago, China’s cheap currency and its large current-account surplus were the biggest controversies in global economics. American policymakers accused China of manipulating its currency for competitive gain and flew to Beijing to convey their displeasure. Some commentators blamed the global financial crisis on China’s surplus and its accumulation of safe American bonds, which encouraged America’s financial industry to invent lucrative, but toxic, substitutes. After the crisis, they then blamed China’s surplus for America’s failure to export its way out of trouble.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "A number of great import"
China February 15th 2014
From the February 15th 2014 edition
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