Forget Bretton Woods II: the Role for U.S.-China-Japan Trilateralism

摘要

In this age of globalization, nations rise and fall in the world marketsrnday and night. Europe, Germany in particular, may at first have indulged in arncertain amount of schadenfreude to observe the abrupt fall from grace of the U.S.rnfinancial system. But not for long. As of November 2008, the euro zone isrnofficially in a recession that continues to deepen.1 Germany’s government wasrncompelled to enact a 50 billion euro fiscal stimulus package.2 The Japaneserneconomy, though perhaps among the least susceptible to the vagaries of thernEuropean and U.S. economies, followed soon after, with analysts fearing thatrnthe downturn could prove deeper and longer than originally anticipated.3 ThernU.S.—Europe—Japan triad, representing the world’s three largest economies, is inrnsimultaneous recession for the first time in the post-World War II era. China,rnmeanwhile, is suddenly seeing its 30-year economic dynamism lose steam, withrnits mighty export machine not just stalling but actually slipping into reverse.