Two weeks ago I wrote a piece on China firing and economic shot across the US’s bow based on comments made by their premier, Wen Jaibao. Now they have dumped a torpedo in the water and it is aimed straight at the United States. People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan released a paper calling for a "super-sovereign reserve currency" to replace the world’s reliance on the US dollar. This is the type of call that is much more likely to be made by an enemy than by a friend and it is time for American consumers to take forceful action even if the US government won’t.
China’s call to replace the dollar as the currency standard around the world has much less to do with the economy than it does with global influence. The global economic slowdown is simply an opportunity that China decided to seize upon to make its call. And unfortunately for Americans, it appears that certain high ranking individuals in the Obama administration are in agreement. Among them, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geitner who said he was open to the idea; a statement that clearly shows disdain for the United States and the American people.
China is a country that is no friend of the United States or of freedom loving people. Last week’s Parade Magazine, an insert in most major US papers, named Wen Jaibao as one of the top ten worst dictators in the world. He was surrounded by some notorious company including Kim JongIl, Robert Mugabe and Moammer Kadafi, to name a few.
The country’s human rights record should be abhorrent to all who seek personal liberty and freedom of expression. From Tiananmen Square to Tibet, China has shown repeatedly that it is prepared to use force as a suppression method to quell any uprising for personal liberty, even against unarmed civilians. The Chinese government has also proven that it can’t be trusted to keep its political promises. Hong Kong is a good case in point. When the city was turned over by the United Kingdom to China, it was supposed to enjoy political freedom for the next fifty years. That promise was broken before the ink was dry.
China is one of the most likely military enemies that the United States and the Western World will face over the next fifty years. The country is arming itself to the teeth with modern military equipment, and has already begun to challenge the US Navy when operating in international waters in the South China Sea.
Sadly, none of what China is doing would be affordable by them if Americans simply refused to purchase goods made in China. If China wants to replace the dollar as their preferred currency, then Americans should replace China as a supplier of goods and services.
We wouldn’t really be losing too much. In the Christmas scares over toys having paint containing lead, all of the toys flagged by the FTC came from China. Congresses response to pass a law that requires all toys to be tested for lead. Now you may think that sounds good, but the law even requires toys that are not painted and which are made out of wood or other non-toxic products to be tested. Since when do trees contain lead? As a result of the new law, toy stores are now pulling toys that have not been tested off their shelves and American manufacturers that have been in business for years are having to close their doors and lay off their employees because they can’t afford the testing. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to require all toys made in China to be tested and left American manufacturers alone? Not one of the toys recalled for lead was made in the USA yet American workers are paying the price.
Another Chinese product that is a real winner is rubber flip-flop shoes. Wal-Mart received numerous complaints from consumers who purchased the shoes – made in China of course - when they caused their feet to blister. Or how about pet food and baby formula tainted with melamine – a known carcinogen that kills rapidly. And of course there is always Chinese sea food that has been laced with a banned, cancer causing antibiotic. And the list goes on and on and…
There is nothing that China makes that the United States needs. We have fallen victim to an old trap. Everyone likes a bargain and the Chinese have been willing to sell to us at bargain prices. But it may not be such a bargain when you consider the long term. The potential for enriching an enemy that we will have to pay again to defend against. The millions of American jobs lost to Chinese workers. Or the loss of American industrial infrastructure; which is a strategic issue affecting national security.
It is clear that the Obama administration doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to the Chinese by removing them from the Most Favored Nations List. And it is equally clear that our incompetent new Treasury Secretary is willing to say just about anything to appease the Chinese at the expense of the American people who pay his salary. Some would call that treason.
In her recent visit with the Chinese, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a resumption of US military ties with the Chinese military. China cut off such ties last year after the United States agreed to sell weapons to Taiwan. In the past, these ties clearly benefited China, giving them an up close and personal look at US military strategy and management style. But American military officers that were associated with the liaison program commonly complained that the Chinese failed to share similar information about their military with the US. So, how we benefit from such ties is much less clear.
Regardless of what our government does, the American people do have the power to make a very bold statement with the Chinese by not buying their products. A boycott of Chinese goods would have a number of effects. First, it would end the transfer of wealth to a country that has proven it is unfriendly to the US. Secondly, it could force the Chinese to curtail the country’s military build up. Third, it would end consumer worries about tainted Chinese products and food. Fourth, it could shift a number of manufacturing jobs back to the US, or at least to countries more friendly to us. Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, it would send a signal to China and the rest of the world that if you want access to our markets, you need to be viewed by the American people as a help, not a hindrance. The beauty of this is that a boycott would not require the approval or involvement of the federal government. This is something we can do on our own.
I’ve setup a group on Facebook for those who are interested in getting involved in a boycott of Chinese products. A friend of mine has also setup a similar group on LinkedIn. The Facebook group can be found here, and the LinkedIn group can be found here.
The Chinese need us a lot more than we need them. Now it’s time to prove that to them.
byJim Malmberg
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