No bail-out from China – Victor Shih

Hu Jintao via Wikipedia

If the world is waiting for China for a bail-out of the global financial crisis, it might be waiting in vain, assistant professor Victor Shih reads in remarks by president Hu Jintao to NPC-delegations from Guangdong. He translates on his weblog:

“Now many countries are saying that China is good and hope that China will emerge (to help them), but honestly we are still a developing country. Don’t over estimate the fact that we have almost 2 trillion dollar in our foreign exchange reserve. If you take that amount and divide it by 1.3 billion people, how much per head is that? Therefore, we truly need to conduct our own affairs well.”

Victor Shih concludes:

Chinese commitment to help bail out other countries is nearly zero. Perhaps a few billion will be thrown at the IMF or World Bank, but beyond that, there will be little. There were some currency swaps recently between China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, but I view them as largely symbolic gestures than genuine help. Also, part of conducting China’s affair well is to continue to expand China’s export markets.

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Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you want him to share his insights, do get in touch.