He that has no money might as well be buried in a rice tub with his mouth sewn up – Chinese proverb

No wonder China's respect for the US and Europe has dwindled. The Chinese take a dim view of poverty. That is because, historically, it has had so much of it to go round. Fear of destitution has underpinned the country's high savings rate, though these days companies actually account for a bigger share of national savings than households. Still, Chinese people – like those in many parts of Asia – remain wary of debt. In China, a high proportion of cars, even houses, are paid for in cash. Chinese officials talk scornfully about US consumers' proclivity to buy now and figure out the consequences later. Through this prism, the made-in-America crisis is seen as a modern morality tale in which reckless governments and citizens got their comeuppance.

Asian policymakers have been reasonably restrained about shoving this view down western gullets, though at times the temptation has been irresistible. After the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Chinese went through a phase of lecturing the US on the virtues of frugality. Just as Washington – and for that matter Beijing – was cranking up its mammoth stimulus, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, was urging the US to rein in excess. “Over-consumption and a high reliance on credit is the cause of the US financial crisis,” he pronounced. “The US should take the initiative to adjust its policies, raise its savings ratio appropriately and reduce its trade and fiscal deficits.”