Stephen S. Roach writes:  The renminbi, China’s currency, has been weakening in recent months and the US immediately cries foul:  manipulation, competitive devaluation and impoverishing nations with whom they trade.

Roach argues that in the face of high unemployment in the US and job insecurity, politicians point to the Chinese component of the US trade deficit.  He further argues that the US savings problem is one fundamental cause of these imbalances, and until we face this problem square on, we should not be hollering at the Chinese.