Clinton To China: Keep Buying Our Debt

Says Beijing's Purchase Of Treasury Bonds Is A "Safe Investment" That Is Also In China's Best Interest

(AP)  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wants China to continue investing in the United States because the two countries' financial futures are closely tied together.

"I certainly do think that the Chinese government and central bank are making a smart decision by continuing to invest in Treasury bonds," she said during an interview Sunday with the popular talk show "One on One." "It's a safe investment. The United States has a well-deserved financial reputation."

To boost the economy, the U.S has to incur more debt, she said, shortly before departing for Washington. "It would not be in China's interest if we were unable to get our economy moving," Clinton said. "So by continuing to support American Treasury instruments, the Chinese are recognizing our interconnection. We are truly going to rise or fall together. We are in the same boat and, thankfully, we are rowing in the same direction.

"Our economies are so intertwined, the Chinese know that to start exporting again to their biggest market, namely the United States, the United States has to take some very drastic measures with this stimulus package, which means we have to incur more debt."

With the export-heavy Chinese economy reeling from the U.S. downturn, Clinton has sought in meetings with President Hu Jintao, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Premier Wen Jiabao to reassure Beijing that its massive holdings of U.S. Treasury notes and other government debt would remain a solid investment.

Yang responded that China wants to see its foreign exchange reserves - the world's largest at $1.95 trillion - invested safely and to continue working with the United States.

During her trip to Beijing, Clinton's emphasis on the global economy, climate change and security were meant to highlight the growing importance of U.S.-China relations, which have often frayed over disagreements on human rights. Authorities in Beijing face a year of sensitive anniversaries - 20 years since the crushing of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement and 50 years since the failed Tibetan uprising that forced the Dalai Lama into exile.

As she wrapped up her trip to China, Clinton met with women's rights advocates and attended church, a day after talks with Chinese officials.

Sunday's session at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing gathered female lawyers, academics, environmental activists, health care workers and entrepreneurs to highlight the growing leadership role of Chinese women.

On Saturday, Clinton and Yang said regular dialogue on economic issues would now include terrorism and other security issues. Details will be finalized by President Barack Obama and the Chinese president at an economic summit in London in April. "We have every reason to believe that the United States and China will recover and together we will help lead the world recovery," she told reporters at a news conference with Yang.

Ahead of her talks, Clinton said China's controversial human rights record would be largely off the table, a blunt admission that startled rights groups.

Activists complained Saturday that Chinese police were monitoring dissidents and had confined some to their homes during Clinton's two-day visit. Several of those targeted had signed "Charter 08," an unusually open call for civil rights and political reforms.

Along with cooperating on the financial crisis, the U.S. wants China to step up efforts to address threats from nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, and the tenuous security situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

With China surpassing the U.S. last year as the world's leading producer of greenhouse gases, Clinton said she and Chinese officials had agreed to develop clean-energy technology that would use renewable sources and safely store the emissions from burning coal.

Visiting a new gas-fueled power plant in Beijing, Clinton urged China not to repeat the "same mistakes" that Western countries made when they developed.

Beijing was the last and perhaps most important stop on Clinton's itinerary, capping a week on the road in Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China intended to demonstrate the Obama administration's commitment to Asia. In Japan and South Korea, concerns over North Korea's nuclear program dominated the agenda, particularly amid a rise in belligerent rhetoric from Pyongyang directed at Seoul. She reaffirmed U.S. alliances with both countries and signed an agreement in Tokyo on the realignment of American forces.

Clinton met some 350 servicemen and women during a refueling stop at the Yokota Air Force Base outside Tokyo on her return trip to Washington.

[sndkzyaa]

It`s hard to blame Clinton for not bringing up the human rights issues
Posted by evian_ycnan at 7:24 PM : Feb 23, 2009

Maybe it's hard for YOU to blame her.

I guess you're OK with the 74 workers who died in the coal mine explosion in China over the weekend.

And you won't mind if the workers in the USA are forced to start wroking in the same conditions here, because that's the only way they can hope to compete in free trade globalization.

We've had tainted peanut butter, we've had the illegal meat packing plant with child labor getting hands cut off in unsafe meat cutting machines. We are becoming like China.

But the overwhelming negative public reaction to these events shows that the USA won't go down easy on turning back the clock 100 years on the protections we take for granted here. Protections that other countries don't have.

[evian_ycnan]

It`s hard to blame Clinton for not bringing up the human rights issues, after all this is a country that is known for illegal detention and imprisonment, torture, and its enemies (real or imagined) vanishing into bizarre renditions... and she did vote to support it. Fortunately, the Chinese didn`t bring it up.

[thegoodtexan]

wvu74621, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo may have had his left hand fingers crossed while shaking hands with the photo op girl. Just in case there were snipers around.

[wvu74621]

This mess just keeps getting uglier and uglier!

[wvu74621]

Traitor; I have a picture sent to me by a friend of a soldier that was forced to shake her hand on her 96 visit to Bosnia. You know the one where "she took sniper fire". I was in Bosnia in 96-97 and it did'nt happen! Anyway in the picture the soldier is shaking her hand but at the same time crossing his fingers with his left hand. That is the sign for coersion for POW's.

[niceface19]

Hillary to the Chinese:

I sell my country to you Chinito for 200 trillions dollars, people included, that's a done deal?

[ms1-1-11]

- U.S.A. = CHINA

[win4usa]

Maybe Washington will learn to live within our means if China stops buying our debt.

[mtabcd]

We wouldn''''t be in hawk to the Chinese so much, if Bush-boy hadn''''t doubled the national debt.
Posted by mtabcd

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With the approval of the Democrats in congress. The Presiden ask for $$... Congress Approved and Gave it.
================

Republicans were in charge of both chambers of Congress during a 6-year period when most of Bush's debt was wrung up.

[papabc]

We wouldn''t be in hawk to the Chinese so much, if Bush-boy hadn''t doubled the national debt.
Posted by mtabcd

----------------------------------------------------

With the approval of the Democrats in congress. The Presiden ask for $$... Congress Approved and Gave it.

Also,, What effect did 9/11 have on America?

Bush asked for $700B. He spent $350B. The then requested the second $350B for Obama to use. Obama asked or and got over $800B. Obama is planning on asking for up to $2T more. The greatest spending ever i nthe history of the work in such a short time. He will ruin the America we knew.