Creditor countries are worrying about the safety of their money. That is what links two of the big economic stories of last week: Chancellor Angela Merkel's attack on the monetary policies pursued by central banks, including her own, the European Central Bank; and the pressure on Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, to persuade his hosts in Beijing that their claims on his government are safe. But are they? The answer is: only if the creditor countries facilitate adjustment in the global balance of payments. Debtor countries will either export their way out of this crisis or be driven towards some sort of default. Creditors have to choose which.
債權國正擔心自己的資金安全。正是這一點，將上週的兩大經濟新聞聯繫在了一起：德國總理安格拉•梅克爾(Angela Merkel)對各大央行——包括自己所屬的歐洲央行(ECB)——推行的貨幣政策進行抨擊；而首次訪華的美國財長蒂姆•蓋特納(Tim Geithner)則面臨這種壓力：試圖讓東道主相信，中國所持的美國國債是安全的。但果真如此嗎？答案是：債權國只有促成對全球國際收支平衡的調整，才能保證債權的安全。債務國要麼將通過出口擺脫此次危機，要麼被迫採取某種形式的違約。債權國必須從中做出選擇。