Chinese state media yesterday lambasted feckless US consumers addicted to spending money they don’t have for being partly to blame for the current financial crisis, suggesting such a thing couldn’t happen in prudent China.
The Xinhua news agency said in an opinion piece datelined from New York that US citizens love spending “tomorrow’s money” on credit, preferring to “eat the corn while it is still on the stalk,” even if this spending is beyond their means.
“Many people think that you cannot de-link the consumer concept of ‘eating the corn while it is still on the stalk’ and this financial crisis which has had a deep impact,” the commentary said.
Xinhua said: “After the US financial storm spread around the world, some Americans are making self-criticisms and reflecting on their spending ideas and behavior.”
The report cited a US citizen it said had been protesting on Wall Street against a US government bail-out plan as praising Chinese people for knowing how to live within their means.
“Most Chinese people know how to have a good life and are used to making their money go further,” it paraphrased the person as saying.
The Xinhua report also quoted an ethnically Chinese currency trader on Wall Street as saying China should learn the lessons of this crisis.
“Chinese people should see from the US financial crisis where the value lies in traditional spending concepts, or preparing for a rainy day,” it paraphrased the trader as saying.
“Only if people have a constant sense of crisis can they discover potential risks in time and overcome them,” the commentary said.
The Chinese government has insisted it is able to weather the economic storm, but is also trying to stimulate domestic consumption in the face of a slowing in the economies of its main export markets in the US and Europe.
China has one of the highest savings rates in the world due to limited alternative investment options and a poor social security safety net.
While Chinese people, especially in cities, are increasingly able and willing to use credit cards and take out personal loans, many still have a cultural aversion to debt, or are simply too poor to qualify for bank loans or other forms of credit.
Meanwhile, China is watching the US presidential election closely, and whether the winner is Democratic Senator Barack Obama or Republican Senator John McCain, the priority for Beijing is to maintain stable ties with Washington.
The Chinese, awed by US power yet irritated by lectures on human rights, show strong interest with extensive media coverage, new titles in book stores, and even opinion surveys on the Internet.
As in the West, it is the Obama phenomenon that makes the difference and the Chinese are particularly intrigued by the idea that a black person could move into the Oval Office for the first time.
But no matter who comes out victorious on Nov. 4, China wants a stable relationship with the US in order to create an environment allowing it to pursue its overall goal of economic and social development.
“There’s no doubt the priority is stability and a solution to the financial and economic crisis, which impacts directly on Chinese growth,” said Valerie Niquet, an Asia scholar at the French Institute of International Relations.
“China also hopes ... to ensure a certain benevolent neutrality from the United States when it comes to Chinese ambitions in Asia,” Niquet said.
She said that Obama may be favored because he is perceived as being more open towards China and Asia, while surrounding himself with advisers who prefer political engagement with China.
But Jia Qingguo (賈慶國), from the Institute of International Relations at Beijing University, said China would be happier if the Republicans stayed in power.
Traditionally, he said, when the opposition seizes power in the US, it brings about changes in foreign policy, including the policy towards China, which are bound to lead to political volatility.
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