After China’s invective on US debt at the weekend, it is easy to forget that Beijing deserves part of the blame for Washington’s fiscal mess, writes Simon Rabinovitch.

　　上周末，中國(guó)對(duì)美國(guó)債務(wù)問(wèn)題進(jìn)行了猛烈抨擊，這很容易讓人們忘記，中國(guó)政府在一定程度上也要對(duì)目前華盛頓的財(cái)政混亂負(fù)責(zé)。

　　It is hard to argue with China’s view that the US has been living beyond its means. But the addict wouldn’t have been so hooked without a generous dealer. China has been the main supplier of the cheap debt that the US has found to be such an irresistible drug.

　　中國(guó)指責(zé)美國(guó)沒(méi)有“量入為出”的觀點(diǎn)很難反駁。但若沒(méi)有慷慨的毒販，癮君子本不至于如此上癮。中國(guó)一直是廉價(jià)債務(wù)的主要供應(yīng)者，美國(guó)無(wú)法抗拒這種“毒品”的誘惑。

　　The problem is not just that China is the biggest foreign holder of US Treasuries with more than $1,100bn. More worrying is the rate of increase of China’s holdings, from less than $100bn a decade ago to the pile it has today.

　　問(wèn)題不僅僅在于中國(guó)是美國(guó)國(guó)債的最大外國(guó)持有者，總共持有逾1.1萬(wàn)億美元。更令人心憂的是中國(guó)持有量的增長(zhǎng)速度：從10年前不到1000億美元到現(xiàn)在這個(gè)龐大數(shù)目。

　　That has made China the most important buyer of US debt over the past decade. It was knocked off its throne only briefly when the Fed stepped in to buy government bonds with its quantitative easing.

　　中國(guó)也由此成為過(guò)去10年里美國(guó)國(guó)債最重要的買(mǎi)家。只有當(dāng)美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)(Fed)在定量寬松期間插手購(gòu)買(mǎi)國(guó)債時(shí)，這一桂冠才短暫地旁落。

　　China’s largesse did not cause the global financial crisis. It did not cause US regulators to overlook subprime dangers. But it acted as a facilitator, enabling the US to enjoy ultra-low rates for a prolonged period that encouraged crazy risk-taking.

　　中國(guó)的慷慨并不是造成全球金融危機(jī)的原因，也不是美國(guó)監(jiān)管部門(mén)忽視次貸風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的原因。但中國(guó)的所作所為的確起到了推手的作用，使美國(guó)能夠長(zhǎng)期享受超低利率，由此助長(zhǎng)了狂熱的冒險(xiǎn)行為。

　　Xinhua began its commentary on Saturday thus: “The days when debt-ridden Uncle Sam could leisurely squander unlimited overseas borrowing appear to be numbered.”

　　新華社在周六一篇評(píng)論文章中開(kāi)篇說(shuō)道：“債臺(tái)高筑的山姆大叔能夠從容揮霍無(wú)止境海外借款的日子似乎不多了。”

　　Apart from the fact that such snarkiness hardly befits the official news agency of the second-largest economy, Xinhua was hypocritical in raising?the issue of “unlimited overseas borrowing” without questioning China’s hand in the vicious debt cycle.

　　且不論這樣尖刻的指責(zé)并不符合全球第二大經(jīng)濟(jì)體官方通訊社的身份，新華社提出了“無(wú)止境海外借款”這個(gè)問(wèn)題，卻絕口不問(wèn)中國(guó)在這一惡性債務(wù)循環(huán)中所扮演的角色，這種態(tài)度十分偽善。

　　China’s bottomless appetite for US debt is a direct result of its own distorted currency regime, whereby it buys much of the foreign exchange streaming into the country in order to hold down the value of the renminbi, and in turn invests that foreign cash in US government bonds.

　　中國(guó)對(duì)于美國(guó)債務(wù)無(wú)止境的欲望，是其扭曲的匯率制度的直接結(jié)果——中國(guó)憑借其扭曲的匯率制度，大舉購(gòu)入流入本國(guó)的外匯，以此壓低人民幣匯率，接著再用外匯投資美國(guó)國(guó)債。

　　This point has been made many times, but it bears repeating that a more market-driven renminbi would have produced a different outcome. China’s forex reserves would certainly have grown more slowly, and it is conceivable that the US trade deficit would have been smaller. The world economy would still have had problems, but it would have been on a somewhat more stable footing.

　　這一觀點(diǎn)已經(jīng)被提到過(guò)多次，但值得再一次重復(fù)：如果人民幣更加以市場(chǎng)為導(dǎo)向，本可以產(chǎn)生不同的結(jié)果。中國(guó)外匯儲(chǔ)備的增長(zhǎng)必然會(huì)慢一些，可想而知，美國(guó)的貿(mào)易逆差也會(huì)小一些。這樣，即便世界經(jīng)濟(jì)仍然會(huì)存在問(wèn)題，但立足點(diǎn)會(huì)更穩(wěn)定一些。

　　Something constructive to come out of the US rating downgrade could be a stronger conviction in China that faster exchange rate reform is needed.

　　如果說(shuō)此次美國(guó)信用降級(jí)帶來(lái)了一些建設(shè)性意義，那會(huì)是中國(guó)將更加堅(jiān)定地相信，有必要加快匯率改革的步伐。

　　Xia Bin, an academic adviser to the Chinese central bank, said as much on his microblog, arguing that Beijing had no choice but to internationalise its currency.

　　中國(guó)央行的學(xué)術(shù)顧問(wèn)夏斌在他的微博上表達(dá)了同樣的觀點(diǎn)。他表示，中國(guó)“必須追求人民幣國(guó)際化，這是必然的選擇，也是無(wú)奈的選擇”。

　　The central bank got off to a promising start on Monday, raising its daily fixing for the renminbi by the most in nearly a year and letting its exchange rate climb to a record against the dollar.

　　周一中國(guó)央行實(shí)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)充滿希望的開(kāi)端，大幅上調(diào)人民幣中間價(jià)，漲幅為近一年來(lái)的最高水平，并允許人民幣兌美元匯率創(chuàng)下新高。

　　Is the biggest debt dealer finally cleaning up its act?

　　難道說(shuō)，最大的債務(wù)“販子”終于開(kāi)始要改頭換面了？