You're mostly right. Their economy is export driven. We use their money to buy their goods. They profit on the sales plus the interest. If we default, they are screwed. But so are we, as the dollar would become the Peso and we would lose all foriegn investment in our capital markets and securities.
FQ13
I don't think so, and here is why. Our trump card is that if we go down, the whole free world goes down with us. Everyone. For that reason that will never happen. The whole European Union, China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, along with the rest of the Pacific Rim depends on the success or failure of our economy and monitary system. If our dollar collapses, it will be a domino effect throughout every foreign market world wide. As much as China wants to make their money the "New World Currency", and Europe beats the drum over the Euro, the Dollar is king, and always will be. They know it, just like the dems know Hussein Care is a turd. They just can't, and won't admit it. They don't have to.
All we have to do to totally sink China is have Geithner and Hussein call China's Economic Minister and say, "Sorry pal, but we're a little short this month, and probably next". It would send their entire economy into a death spiral they would not be able to recover from. Their whole economy is in it's infancy as a productive industrialized nation. About all they have going for them at the moment is a cheap, slave labor force that translates into a lot of cheap goods, and a currency they couldn't possibly devalue any further. Most of these goods
we buy. Hell, if Harbor Freight closed their doors, who would pick up the slack and buy all of that crap? Europe? Doubtful. The Euro is in worse shape than the dollar, their unemployment rate is higher, and their people have even less disposable income than the broke idiot's who live here.
No matter how you cut the cake, they are walking a longer, higher, more dangerous financial tightrope than we are. Bill T.