Butcher

Photograph taken in Hong Kong by Peter Luginbuehl.

China set to cash in its chips

Shit, meet Fan. As in He Fan, an official in the Chinese government who promises that China can sink the U.S. dollar if it feels like it.

The Telegraph is reporting that China "has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation."

China's state media is referring to the tactic as the "nuclear option," writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.

"[S]uch action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels," the article continues. "It would also cause a spike in US bond yields, hammering the US housing market and perhaps tipping the economy into recession. It is estimated that China holds over $900bn in a mix of US bonds."

Yes, you read it right, that's $900,000,000,000. A fly dick short of a trillion bucks.

Mr. Fan told China Daily that the Chinese central bank, in the event that the yuan rises dramatically as a result of sanctions, "will be forced to sell dollars ... which might lead to a mass depreciation of the dollar."

China has been cleverly building to this point for quite some time, egging on the steady implosion of the US economy with cheap products, cheap labor and cheap lies.

Meanwhile, blissfully unaware, financially struggling Americans seal the deal further each day by continuing to flock to China slut Wal-Mart and basically every corporate chain across the country. Hey, like a dealer to a junkie quivering for a fix, they're only giving us what we want, so you can't blame big business.

But I'm sure President Bush and the Republicans will do everything in their power to stop China from pulling the plug on us. Like a good old-fashioned diversionary war with Iran, or peachy economic lies from grinning fools on Fox, or, as is the custom, blaming it all on a Clinton. Just keep eating your fish sticks, America.