USA to China: Let's Talk

       So, Joe Biden and Company wants to reach out to Beijing, again. This time on economics and trade. Who will be the point person: our beloved Janet Yellen. She's an experienced negotiator and well versed on all things economic. Tariffs, trade, open markets, copyright infringement, corporate secret theft, cyberhacking(see earlier post of FBI  announcement), Chinese asylum seekers at the southern border; Jimmy Lai's prison sentence; Hong Kong's problems, etc. The list is fairly endless.

     But China cannot hide its economic downward slide. Too many foreign investors are fleeing the Communist business environment, heading: abroad, home, any where else. Chinese economy No. 10, G.I. No bueno. Carmakers are wondering how long before the EV industry can continue there if nobody is buying the product. battery metals are abundant and now the prices have slid into the TOTO toilet. The Americab public has awakened to a new mindset: EV's are not the current solution despite the government's push to stop the manufacturing of gas-powered cars and force Detroit to build EVs.

     So, Janet Y. will have lots to talk about with her Chinese peers-those in thrall to Xi Jen Ping & Co. in Beijing. What can she hope to accomplish: less aggression in the South China Sea? Less aggression toward Taiwan? Less restriction on the sale of computer chips China desperately needs for the economy? Well, that's a mouthful. Chips-so much to analyze. Japan is also in the mix because they set up multiple factories in China and now must regroup and rethink all those decisions. Can Japan be frozen out of the country under threat of embargoes? Can Janet leverage the sanctions against chip sales to Chinese companies? I think, as Mayor of Tahoma, that Janet has lots of leverage this time. The collapse of Evergrande, the 2nd largest real estate developer, is a signal that there are huge problems inherent in Beijing's control of the economy. Millions of real estate sales on homes to be built were never realized: the would-be owners were loaned money to buy and have nothing to show for their effort excepting worthless receipts. That's business; in China.

    Good Luck, Ms. Yellen. You'll have our support along the way to some policy changes in Beijing. Xi: are you listening? The clock is ticking.