Google’s dispute with the Chinese government has taught us a lot about modern China. The disagreement was sparked by the company’s January decision to stop filtering Internet searches by its Chinese users and could lead to the closure of Google’s Chinese search engine, or perhaps an even more drastic withdrawal from China. (An …

In yet another attempt by the U.S. to force China to change its currency regime, senators on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require the government to impose duties on goods from countries that don’t address currencies deemed to be misaligned. In other words: China. The bill follows a war of words between the U.S. and China …

So here we are, once again, in a nasty round of political bickering over China’s currency, the yuan (also known as the renminbi). There is a widespread belief around the world that Beijing has been setting the value of the yuan at an artificially cheap level, which gives Chinese exports an unfair advantage in international markets. Just …

No, I’m not talking about The Vapors’ old pop hit (as my editors breathe a sigh of relief). Instead I’m wondering if the United States is beginning to become a bit like Japan. And in this instance, I don’t mean that as a compliment.

I’m writing this post from the town of Sendai, north of Tokyo. It snowed today, which was a …

Investors have recently focused on some of the problems potentially facing the Chinese economy, and they’re getting worried. The concerns are that China might be facing a destabilizing property price bubble and rising bad loans at its banks due to last year’s recession-busting credit boom.

The International Monetary Fund has never been all that popular with developing nations. Sure, the IMF loans countries money when they most need it, but it comes with nasty strings attached. In return for cash, the IMF demands reforms – market liberalization, financial restructuring, budget cuts — many of which are politically …

Over in Europe, the PIGS have expanded into the PIIGS, but not for the best of reasons. Perhaps we should add an “I” to the BRICs, for reasons much more positive for the global economy.

The extra “I” would stand for Indonesia, a country that often gets forgotten amid all of the attention lavished on China and India. I’ve been …

A few days ago on Curious Capitalist, I asked whether China was headed for trouble due to the potential damage done to its banking system by the government’s giant stimulus program. One of our readers, identified as tanboontee, was kind enough to write a very interesting comment. Here’s an excerpt:

Excessive debts in the west support

…

One of the big worries Americans have about China’s rising economic power concerns its immense holdings of U.S. government debt. The fear is that Chinese actions regarding these holdings could end up destabilizing the U.S. economy, or that they could be used as a political tool to influence American policy. If China, let’s say, got …

I’ve gotten a bit of a reputation around the TIME office in Hong Kong of being something of a China basher. I don’t think that’s fair, since I have absolutely no doubt China will be the next great superpower. But I do have an issue with what I consider blind optimism on the part of many observers about the China growth story. Too …

The U.S. dollar was supposed to be at the end of its rope. Kicking the bucket. A dying symbol of a dying empire. Well, maybe not. The dollar continues to defy gloom-and-doom predictions. After a swoon last year, the dollar is again enjoying a major rally. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against other major …