With the pitfalls of another presidential transition in mind, Wen Jiabao, China's premier, headed to Davos last week, ready to prescribe Chinese remedies for global maladies. Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, chose the first week of the Obama administration to brand Beijing as a currency manipulator before the US Senate – raising fears of a revival of protectionist legislation aimed at punishing China. This marked a departure from Bush-era China policy, which stopped short of taking this serious step, in spite of ballooning trade imbalances and the Chinese export boom. Now the boom is not exactly a bust, but China is sinking economically as it confronts developmental limits and domestic challenges. Its exports are falling.
心懷又一次總統換屆的隱患，中國總理溫家寶上周前往達沃斯，為全球經濟疾患開出中國藥方。而美國財政部長蒂姆?蓋特納(Tim Geithner)選擇在奧巴馬(Obama)政府上任后的第一周，在美國參議院面前給中國政府貼上操縱匯率的污名。這標志著告別布什時代的對華政策。盡管美國貿易赤字日益擴大、中國出口迅速增長，布什政府還是沒有跨出如此嚴重的一步。現在，這種繁榮景象并沒有徹底破滅，但由于遭遇發展限制和國內挑戰，中國經濟正在下滑，出口正在減少。