Reflections by Comrade Fidel

China, the future great economic power

These days, many news cables are talking about China’s economic potential.

Yesterday, March 28th, it was the main U.S. news agency which was acknowledging that “China is the only major economy still growing at a fast clip…

“In his second rebuke of U.S. leadership this past week - the cable continues, not very kindly at the end of the paragraph- the central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said China's rapid response to the downturn — including a stimulus package equivalent to $586 billion— proved the superiority of its authoritarian, one-party political system. ”

The AP agency immediately releases the verbatim version of the governor of the central bank of China:

“Facts speak volumes, and demonstrate that compared with other major economies, the Chinese government has taken prompt, decisive and effective policy measures, demonstrating its system advantage…” a statement that, according to the press agency, were taken from Zhou’s remarks posted on the People's Bank of China's Web site.

“Two weeks away from the summit of 20 leading economies (G20) to be held on April 2 in London, Zhou called on foreign governments to give their finance ministers and central bankers broad authority so that they can "act boldly and expeditiously without having to go through a lengthy or even painful approval process."

“China has made its agenda clear: It wants a stable U.S. dollar, and has even advocated the creation of another global currency altogether. Beijing is leery of protectionism. And it is demanding a larger say in how financial systems are regulated and rescued, while holding back on any promises for new rescue or stimulus measures of its own.

At the end of the cable, it states:

“…Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Prime Minister, has urged the United States to remain "a credible nation." In other words, Beijing wants Washington to avoid spurring inflation with excessive government spending on bailouts and stimulus packages.”

As one can see, the influence of the Peoples’ Republic of China at the London meeting will be enormous from the economic point of view vis-à-vis the world crisis. That would have never happened earlier when the power of the United States used to prevail totally in this field.

On the other hand, it is amusing to see the unrest at the entrails of the empire, full of insurmountable problems and contradictions with the peoples of Latin America which it intends to dominate forever and ever.

Those reading the statements made by the pious Catholic Joe Biden in Viña del Mar, ruling out the lifting of the economic blockade against Cuba and longing for an internal transition which in our country would be frankly counter-revolutionary, will be amazed. It is so sad to hear his plaintive laments, especially when there is not a single Latin American and Caribbean government that doesn’t perceive a millstone from the past in that antediluvian measure. What kind of ethic subsists in United States policy? How much of Christianity remains in the political thinking of Vice President Biden?

Fidel Castro Ruz

March 29, 2009

3:43 p.m.