Beijing-Tokyo monetary agreement threatens the West

2011-12-31

Richard Moore

Beijing-Tokyo monetary agreement threatens the West

The China-Japan agreement to stop using the dollar, or any other currency, in their bilateral transactions was a very strong blow to the US financial standing in world affairs. To a lesser degree this Chino-Nippon agreement is also detrimental to the Eurozone.

It seems that the two most important export oriented economies of east Asia are now seeing themselves as an independent economic entity, but they forget that their growth and well being hinges on their exports to the US and the Eurozone. The monetary agreement between Beijing and Tokyo does not only aim at pushing aside American and European currencies, but also is meant to immunise east Asian economic growth from the west and the problems that the Eurozone and the US are now facing. But is this possible?

To Americans and Europeans the answer is no, but the very fact of this agreement is a clear indication of the Chino-Nippon efforts to appear as an independent financial and trade region, with huge concomitant political implications. In any case the US and the Eurozone felt the heat at a time when both those western economic and financial powerhouses needed help. The US needs to be able to maintain the attractiveness of all dollar values as the safest place in the world to deposit wealth and the Eurozone needing external help from both Japan and China to overcome its sovereign over indebtedness.