US debt is threat to the world, says Chinese state-run paper
People’s Daily commentary on Washington’s US$20 trillion federal debt is seen as a warning to incoming president Donald Trump
Excessive US government debt is a “threat to world economic safety”, and the policies of president-elect Donald Trump might worsen the situation, a Chinese state-run newspaper has warned.
People’s Daily on Sunday ran a whole page of commentary criticising Washington’s debt policy, claiming that US debt is hindering the growth of the American economy and destabilising the global currency and financial system. It also blamed the stagnation of the Japanese economy partially on “the US debt factor”.
The federal debt of the United States has increased under the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations from less than US$6 trillion to more than US$20 trillion. It now equals about 106 per cent of US gross domestic product.
One People’s Daily editorial said Trump’s pledged tax cut would likely add another US$10 trillion to the deficit. “It would put the US government under huge financial pressure,” it said.
Shi Yinhong, an international relations analyst at Renmin University, said Trump was hoping fast growth could strengthen the government’s ability to repay.