Washington (AsiaNews) - The White House announced today that Barack Obama will receive Chinese President Hu Jintao on 19 January. Among the topics on the agenda: the tensions on the Korean peninsula, the currency war and the possible collapse of the U.S. and the Chinese economy.
So far Beijing has not confirmed the date, but has recently announced that Hu's visit to the United States will be held in early 2011.
According to the Washington, the forthcoming visit will aim to "build a partnership that will improve the common interests and concerns that we share." In recent months, the disagreements between the two countries have increased: on the one hand there is the tension between the two Koreas and accusations against Beijing of not doing enough to rein in Pyongyang. And on the other there are the complaints of American business leaders that China keeps its yuan currency too cheap, giving it an unfair trade advantage, and shaking the balance of trade between the two superpowers. The U.S. trade deficit with China rose by 20% this year, surpassing the 2008 peak of 268 billion dollars.
But the meeting should also find some solution to the risk of collapse of both economies. Many American scholars are concerned that Fed policy will lead to a greater inflation of the dollar (see 19/11/2010 Currency wars and the Fed’s demise.) But there are also worrying signs on the Chinese side. According to economist Mark Hart, a huge speculative bubble is building in the areas of raw materials, real estate and construction, and bank loans[i]. In his opinion, China, instead of being "the engine of global growth," has become "it’s greatest danger”.