China suspended military exchanges with the United States and threatened sanctions against American defense companies Saturday, just hours after Washington announced $6.4 billion in planned arms sales to Taiwan.
He who holds the purse strings makes the rules. In November, China held $789.6 billion worth of US Treasury securities. All the while, leftists tell rightists they need to erect windmills to lessen dependence on foreign oil. Oil-exporting nations only hold $187.7 billion. China’s contempt for our government’s reckless spending is explained nicely in this highly-recommended, dated, but still valid commentary. No reasonable person would predict China will continue to support our debt at the expense of its own economy, nor should they be expected to sit by quietly as the US defaults on its loans.
With respect to the current threat, just imagine what suspension of military purchases will do for contractor jobs in the US. I must confess, this perspective escaped me when I chided the stimulus czars for repeating, “This is exciting!”