As its global trade surplus grows, other countries are getting panicky. But if handled right, this situation could lead to a more balanced global economy
The angst levels of U.S., European, and Japanese trade officials shot off the charts on Jan. 11 when China reported that its 2005 global trade surplus had tripled to a record $102 billion. It seemed further evidence of the nonstop rise of China’s $2 trillion economy. The reaction to that number, and a lot of the media coverage that followed, suggested this was a dangerous development for rich world economies, particularly the U.S. (see BW Online, 1/13/06, “Parsing China’s Trade Surplus“).