麦克阿瑟将军告别演讲

Andy Xie: Good Tidings in 2011

The global economy may be coming up for a breach of fresh air in 2011. Fiscal and monetary policies around the world have been highly stimulated for three years. The additional monetary and fiscal stimulus measures by the U.S. could generate an upside surprise to its 2011 growth rate. Most emerging economies continue to grow rapidly. By the middle of 2011, most analysts may declare that the world has finally put the financial crisis behind.

The reality is quite different. The global economy is kept afloat by massive monetary and fiscal stimulus around the world. The main problem in the global economy – high costs and declining competitiveness in the developed world, and inflation plus asset bubbles in the developing world continue unabated. Either inflation in the developing world or unsustainable sovereign debt in the developed world will spark the next crisis.

China has an opportunity to gain immunity against the next crisis.

The last crisis started in the U.S. If China hadn't reformed a decade ago, it could have started in China. An economic crisis in China would have prolonged the U.S.'s economic cycle by bringing down oil and other commodity prices, which would have improved the U.S.'s cash flow.

The most likely candidates to trigger the next global crisis are the U.S.'s sovereign debt or China's inflation. When one goes down first, the other can prolong its economic cycle. China may have won the last race. To win the next one, China must tackle its inflation problem, which is ultimately a political and structural issue, in 2011. If China does, the U.S. will again be the cause for the next global crisis. China will suffer from declining exports but benefit from lower oil prices.

On the other hand, if China has a hard landing, the U.S.'s trade deficit can drop dramatically, maybe by 50 percent, due to lower import prices. It would boost the dollar's value and bring down the U.S.'s treasury yield. The U.S. can have lower financing costs and lower expenditures. The combination allows the U.S. to enjoy a period of good growth.

One could describe the global economy as a race between the U.S. and China, to see who goes down first.

This coming year is China's opportunity.

The Obama administration just passed a big tax reduction bill. This is happening even as the U.S. already has a massive fiscal deficit and the national indebtedness is the highest since the World War II. The Fed just reemphasized its commitment to QE 2. It has made its intention crystal clear: As long as the unemployment rate is high and inflation rate is low, it will continue with QE.

I have argued several times before why the U.S.'s stimulus won't bring lasting growth. I'm not sure that the stimulus advocates in the U.S. believe what they say. The real intention for the new Obama tax cut is to get him re-elected in 2012. The mid-term election this year shows that, unless the U.S.'s unemployment rate drops significantly, he will lose his

re-election bid then.

The Fed's intention, I think, is to inflate away the U.S.'s debts. The U.S.'s household sector needs to cut its leverage by half to become normal again. If it is done through saving more, the U.S. economy will be weak for a long time, which would keep the fiscal