Geocentricities - Part Two

Let's move further north to territory that should be more familiar to all of us. Should be. The land called China. Home to ancient history, terra cotta soldiers, silk, tea, Tiananmen Square, cheap goods and 1.3 billion people.

Australians, particularly mineral-rich Western Australians, have a keen eye on China. Where its fortune goes, so does Australia's. The global economic crises has demonstrated that. China's economy has not stalled, just slowed to single digit growth. Which means, due to lower demand for mineral resources, WA's economy has slowed. Is it because of the closer proximity or the direct commerce that this relationship is seen so clearly? Is it because of the further proximity and indirect commerce that makes it harder for North Americans to clearly see their relationship with this burgeoning financial giant?

It is by far easier to coach than play and Aussies fondly fondle the whistle. There are weekly reports in one medium or another analyzing what other countries are & should be doing, in their opinion. Some give real pause for thought. The financial relationship of China and the U.S. comes to mind. Twenty-five years ago I wondered why U.S. businesses were so eager to lay down at the feet of the Chinese government. Did they hope that all 1.3 billion people would be buying their stuff? Didn't think so then but hadn't given much thought about it since then. Like my fellow citizens, too busy moving along in the machinations of my own tiny world to give lots of thought to the big picture. "Made in the U.S.A." , "Buy American" and the anti-WalMart campaigns didn't quite penetrate the national psyche deep enough. Did the global financial crises do it? Do my fellow Americans see what appears much more clearly to me now from a distance; that China is well on its way to owning the U.S.'s financial soul? In my experience, northern Asian populations have been terrific savers and that excess money has been bailing out the living-on-credit American population. Someday, the piper will need to be paid. Have we figured out yet that we need to: reduce personal & collective debt, keep jobs within our own shores and, for pity's sake, stop shopping at places like WalMart?
As a Global Citizen, China leaves much to be desired. As Banker, we can all learn from it.

I have been to China twice--actually the same corner twice. Fascinating, it is. And very different from it's other three corners we see in the National Geographic and Lonely Planet publications. I'm going to need a few more lifetimes to catch it all.....or many friends that travel there and send me lots of letters, postcards & pictures.