China Seeks Its Pound of Flesh

By Matthew Vadum —— Bio and Archives March 14, 2009

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The Chinese government wants security for all the money it has in effect lent the U.S. by purchasing government debt, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S., so of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. Frankly speaking, I do have some worries,” Premier Wen Jiabao said. The premier called on the U.S. to “maintain its credibility, honor its commitments and guarantee the security of Chinese assets.” Short of registering a lien against the whole country, it’s unclear what kind of security the U.S. could give the People’s Republic. We could just give them California.