This issue will be interesting to watch.
On one hand we have Dell, Walmart, and safety of the US Treasury bond.
On the other hand, we have the World's most brilliant minds on international diplomacy. The people that have wow'd us with the ability to think beyond Cold War ideologies and past vendettas as illustrated by their insightful and effective policies in Iraq, Israel, Palestine, North Korea, Syria and Iran. Not to mention the President's endearing and repeated use of the word "uhhmm" in his role as the Voice of Freedom.
I think I will be betting on Walmart.
U.S. Increasingly Pursues
Two-Track China Policy
Economic, Security Goals Yield Approach Combining Engagement, Containment
November 17, 2005
When President Bush visits Beijing this weekend, he will face a foreign-policy conundrum -- how to stay friendly with a China that has become America's fastest-growing trading partner and one of its biggest sources of capital while guarding against a potential military threat from the rise of a strategic rival.
One administration answer: "congagement," in the language of some policy wonks, a mix of "containment" and "engagement."
The dual approach accommodates competing agendas. American companies ranging from Dell Inc. to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are increasingly dependent on China's low-cost manufacturers and are eager to tap the country's vast domestic market. Last year, total U.S. trade with China grew 28% to $245 billion, and China is second only to Japan among America's foreign lenders.
A Treasury Department report released yesterday found that Beijing's lending role continued to grow in September. Chinese holdings of U.S. government debt rose to $252.2 billion from $248 billion in August. (See related article on page C1.) Though that investment helps keep American interest and mortgage rates low, it makes Washington vulnerable to China's potential dumping of dollar-denominated holdings.
American defense planners, meanwhile, have grown increasingly suspicious of China's military buildup.
