US Seeks Closer China Ties: There is no doubt that what FT presents has to be credible. But I would have to say that title is misleading. “Seeks Closer Ties”, that is putting euphemistically. You seek only closer ties with equals not when you are at receiving end. Hasn’t anybody read what happened in Washington only today, where President Obama opened a conference on investments and nearly 200 bankers, bureaucrats and personages took stock of the American Budget? The presidential entourage and team were grilled with interrogatives – incidentally most of the questions were in Chinese language. They were asking simple questions like, for which there were no apparent answers, except of course the hem and haws: • How long are these huge deficits sustainable? • How long will the President keep stimulating the American economy? • If the dollar nosedives compared other major currencies, what’s the fallback plan? The Chinese Assistant to the Finance Minister, Zhu Guangyao, had said the previous day with atypical direct outspoken tone: “We are concerned about the security of our financial assets” China often keeps diplomatic niceties aside, as they have come to Washington to find out the fate of their investment of more than $1.5 trillion China has put in United States government-issued securities. The Times They Are A-Changin' and have gone forever when America pointed fingers at China, reprimanding them to become “responsible stakeholder” in the world. Demanding that Yuan should be appreciated or else America would stop importing. And what about cleaning the Chinese banks, and get rid of the subsidies paid to state-owned industries Similarly Chinese have been calling Washington several times during the financial crisis asking how their investment would be protected against failures of the financial institutions. Obama himself has said that America and China now is as “important as any bilateral relationship in the world.” What once was said for Britain, and then it was said for Japan, and now of course. ... Of course the times are Changin’ In history it is not only wars that have altered the balance of power but it is also strategic advantages or disadvantages like financial prowess, disease, climatic catastrophes . I don’t know how prophetic Alexander Tytler was when he said that: "The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: • From Bondage to spiritual faith; • From spiritual faith to great courage; • From courage to liberty; • From liberty to abundance; • From abundance to complacency; • From complacency to apathy; • From apathy to dependence; • From dependence back into bondage." ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth savin' Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'.