Scepticism about US financial policy is widespread in China. With its $2,270bn in foreign currency reserves, an estimated 70 per cent of which are in US dollar assets, Beijing's pride in its own relative ascendancy against the US over the past year is mixed with fear that Washington will seek to inflate away its massive debt. Indeed the audience at a Beijing university talk by Tim Geithner laughed out loud when the US Treasury secretary said China's huge investment in US bonds was safe.
Even the country's leaders have stepped in. Premier Wen Jiabao said in March: “I request the US to maintain its good credit, to honour its promises and to guarantee the safety of China's assets.”
Yet in recent months, as the depreciation in the dollar has gathered pace, there has been less public discussion about the issue by Chinese leaders. In part, Beijing realises its comments could hasten the dollar's decline. Moreover, a measured fall has served its short- term interests. Given the renminbi has in effect been re-pegged to the dollar since the middle of 2008, the struggling export sector has found some relief as the Chinese currency has followed the dollar down against its other trading partners.