Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other polished cabinetry are visiting China later this week. They'll see fields of skyscrapers, traffic jams of new cars and designer couture replacing the old Maoist uniform with five buttons and too-long sleeves. In other words, we've got the Chinese right where we want 'em.
Sure, the China Miracle is impressive -- double-digit economic growth, exports up 30%, a $150-billion trade surplus and a trillion dollars of foreign currency in their treasury as reserves. The prevailing opinion is that at any moment, China can stop funding U.S. budget deficits by not buying our bonds -- so Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke should come hat in hand and beg for indulgence. Don't believe it.
