70,000 Chinese factories have closed recently; 20 million lost jobs as a result

[Silverbird]

Meanwhile, in China...ouch.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/china.economy.family/index.html

[Steadygain]

It's strange Silverbird,

It's like everyone 'in control' did everything possible to keep the veil in place - and keep everything hidden for as long as they could. Even when things began to come to light 'THEY' put so much focus on first this - and then that - 'that the veil remained largely intact'.

NOW - the VEIL is disappearing - and only now are the ones who really know the full extent of what's going on finally telling the world at large 'That things are very bad and they are going to get worse'.

Well - this is probably my last message for TODAY - so will end on something more good and pleasantly resounding ....

VERY FEW marriages last '50 years' and it's wonderful you were able to be with your parents on such a great occasion. I hope it went well.

[Silverbird]

When other markets go bad, you can't depend on them to buy your products anymore. By depending on other markets to make them rich, they have shared the fall. Now China is pretty desperate. They have hatched their own stim, hoping that will work.

Speaking of stims....
China has been rumbling recently that the "buy America" provision in the U.S. stim is a bad idea, and that China is not being preferential in the programs in their current stimulus package. But if you know the subtleties, they are hardly the ones to talk. In the provision, it states that we will abide by our trade agreement and WTO obligations. Since this is a Government funded program, it is covered by the Government Procurement agreement and we are obligated to open our contracts to other signatories, as they do for us (as another signatory).

Problem is, China is NOT a signatory of the Government Procurement agreement, and don't have to open their programs to our companies, so opening a program to open bidding is, well, up to their discretion. But we have no obligation to open up out contracts to them either because they can give and taketh away as a non-signatory. Plus, on the provincial level, that supposedly open bidding for contracts based on the Chinese stim package often doesn't happen. So they are hardly ones to talk.

Other fellow signatories are also uneasy about the provision, and the U.S. has gone out of their way to reassure them. I haven't heard the U.S. directly reasurring China, however. It's really going to get their guff when they realize where not signing the agreement is going to put them.