Source:
WSJWASHINGTON -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner heads to Beijing this weekend to urge Chinese leaders to fundamentally alter the export-oriented economy that has created years of trans-Pacific trade tensions.
In meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, Mr. Geithner is expected to reiterate U.S. support -- and gratitude -- for the giant stimulus package that China has implemented to combat the global recession.
But he is also planning to press Beijing to take drastic measures to turn China's economy into one that depends heavily on sales to domestic consumers and less on sales to the U.S. and other foreign markets, according to a senior Treasury Department official.
That means encouraging Beijing to offer more generous health-care, retirement, welfare, educational and other benefits in order to persuade the average Chinese citizen that spending now doesn't mean starving later...
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Surely this is a joke. ???