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9 Dec, 2012

Chinese Commentary: US Has No Right to Frequently Disturb the World

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(People’s Daily Online) December 06, 2012 – The U.S. Republican and Democratic parties have not made any substantive progress in the first round of fiscal cliff talks, arousing worries that the country may fall off the fiscal cliff.

The stalled budget talks reflect significant differences between the two parties’ governance styles.

Objectively speaking, U.S. politicians should know clearly that a “self-inflicted” recession will greatly weaken the country’s hard and soft power when its economic recovery remains sluggish; the European debt crisis is unresolved; and the world economy is still plagued by uncertainty.

Although the United States is unlikely to really fall off the fiscal cliff, it has frequently disturbed the globalized world due to domestic political infighting, which reflects the problems concerning the U.S. political system and its lack of responsibility as a major power.

Due to the conflict of realistic interests and ideological polarization, both parties will not make concessions to each other until the last minute. This political game that U.S. Congress members are good at playing has brought great uncertainty to global markets and U.S. companies.

“The economic confidence of both market participants and the general public will also be influenced by the extent to which our political system proves able to deliver a reasonable solution with a minimum of uncertainty and delay,” U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned.

Regrettably, the United States has been frequently struck with “political paralysis” due to its political characteristics.

The two parties tend to take conflicting stances on major issues, so many reforms concerning the country’s future have been stalled. The fiscal cliff has exposed the plight facing the U.S. political system.

The United States is the world’s largest economy and a primary global reserve currency issuer. U.S. policymakers have a duty to minimize the negative spillover effects of the country’s economic woes, which requires them to get rid of the influence of partisan interests when making economic policies.

The United States, which is used to asking other countries to shoulder responsibilities, should act as a responsible major power on issues concerning the future of the world economy.

Read the Chinese version: 美国无权频频惊扰世界, source: People’s Daily, author: Zhong Sheng