China and US - The Odd Couple

US and China make an odd couple. Or may not be so odd, conspicuously akin to numerous married couples who don't like each other but stick together simply because of mutual dependency. Both are suspicious, distrustful, frequently spy on each other, and occasionally flirt with paramours. They hold each other's hand and fake smiles for public consumption, fighting in private. Yet end of the day, they stay together to protect their common interest. Like two sides of coin they may be able to see each other but live together.

 

Their marriage was arranged by one Richard Nixon in 1973 on the advise of irrefutable, wily matchmaker Henry Kissinger, known for his out of box, maverick foreign policy to checkmate then Soviet Union at the height of Cold War. The husband US obviously had the upper hand then vis a vis a coy, unsure and insecure of herself China, a la a new bride in an arranged marriage. Lots of water have flown down  Mississippi and Yangtze Kiang, the irritant in the relationship called Soviet Union has long lost it's fang. Now China is an equal if not the larger say in the relationship. America cannot divorce her easily and diverse his attention to another suitor as she has the custody of its debt like their child. This relationship will sustain as long as the producer-cum-debtor China will be lending in USD to its favorite consumer America to consumer its product.

 

China wants American consumers to buy what it makes, otherwise its export oriented economy will be in serious trouble. It could open the lid of a can of worms which kept closed tightly till date by the Chinese authorities and lead to social unrest in a nation of 1.35 billion people which would be a nightmare. The smart and foresighted leaders of the Middle Kingdom know it. All bravado not withstanding both US and China cannot do without each other. Chinese products from Toys to Tilapia flood the American market, even the ubiquitous American Flags visible on 4th of July have "Made in China" tag. Huge ocean liners ply goods across the Pacific manufactured in miles long Sanghai EPZ (Export Processing Zone) for the voracious American consumers. It's said that if those shipping liners stop coming to US West Coast for couple of weeks the prices in Wal Mart would double. Reminds me of the SAHUKAR MAHAJAN ( traders and money lenders) in villages back home. They lend money to their customers in their village so that the later can buy their produce. As it's said in Sankrit RUNAM KRITVA GHRUTAM PIVET, transliterated "Borrow money to drink Ghee (clarified butter)". The US - China relationship perfectly describes it, on a larger scale of course.