Quotes by Nicholas Lardy

“I think a big move is very unlikely because the regime is very concerned about maintaining economic growth. I think short term the president and (U.S. Treasury Secretary John) Snow are not going to get what they want. Longer term, it could be a different story.”

“To really make this work, you have to close down some of the inefficient firms that are not going to be able to repay their debt to banks. To date, the state or the party has not had the will to shut down many of these firms.”

“It would be hard to overestimate this as a first step for China. If China can transform its big banks, this will have enormous implications for Chinas long-term economic growth.”

“There are many unanswered questions surrounding this case. China certainly hasnt helped the situation by giving so little information about what happened and denying hes a state employee.”

“The Bush administration is under enormous pressure from Congress to do something about the uneven bilateral trade deficit. The underlying force is not the value of their currency but the low savings rate in the United States. If theres no change in the U.S. savings rate, the trade deficit wont go away.”

“The world oil market is very competitive and it is not clear what advantages cooperation could bring, particularly to the Chinese side since they are a much larger participant in the market.”

“The sad fact is we dont necessarily have much leverage to get China to change their exchange rate or their trade policies.”

“We dont have very much leverage.”

“They are the biggest trading nation, they are one of the biggest receivers of capital flows. If you are going to be a global policy- making organization and leave a huge player outside the framework, you arent going to have much credibility.”

“China is looking to foreign companies, including Microsoft, as sources of technology.”