China is taking advantage of the government shutdown and budget crisis on Capitol Hill to push for more favor on the world stage, telling other nations that relying on America to lead in the coming decades would be folly.
“It is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world,” Chinese news suggested, The Guardian reported.
The cited reasons: America’s government, economics and leadership were in shambles, China authorities said in the official state-run news agency, Xinhua.
Against this backdrop, U.S. authorities have also sounded the alarm on America’s economic future. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has been voicing concerns that the nation will default on its debts this Thursday if a budget deal is not reached. Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans in Congress continue to stonewall on a deal.
But China’s chiding ratchets up pressure, especially in terms of how the U.S. political scene is viewed around the globe. The nation is America’s largest foreign debt holder — it owns $1.28 trillion of U.S. bonds.
“Such alarming days when the destinies of others are in the hands of a hypocritical nation have to be terminated,” the China news agency said. “The cyclical stagnation in Washington for a viable bipartisan solution over a federal budget and an approval for raising the debt ceiling has left many nations’ tremendous dollar assets in jeopardy and the international community highly agonized.”
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• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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