Meanwhile, China keeps on rolling along.

[seafan]

East Asian trade strategy seen as wake-up call for US

06 December 2007

WASHINGTON: East Asia's moves to forge a giant free trade area is a wake-up call for the United States after being fixated on the Middle East, a US-Japan forum was told Wednesday.

Studies are underway to consider the possibility of establishing free trade areas – one between 10 Southeast Asian nations and China, Japan and South Korea, and the other between the 13 economies and India, Australia and New Zealand.

The moves have caused some concerns in the United States, whose proposal for a mega free trade area covering 21 Pacific Rim economies has in effect been rebuffed by China, Japan as well as several other East Asian economies.

Such a growing East Asian partnership underscores the lack of US attention in the region, Republican US Senator Lisa Murkowski said at a Washington forum on East Asian economic integration and US-Japan relations.

.....

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/315834/1/.html">China's Baosteel denies reports on bid plans for Rio Tinto: newspaper

06 December 2007

SHANGHAI : China's largest steel maker Baosteel Group denied a media report that it is considering a bid for mining giant Rio Tinto, state media said Thursday, citing the chairman of the company.

"Media reports that Baosteel plans to buy Rio Tinto is untrue", Xu Lejiang, chairman of Baosteel, was quoted as saying by the official China Securities Journal.

Xu told reporters on Wednesday that Baosteel is merely "studying" the world's largest miner BHP Billiton's offer to merge with Rio Tinto, it said.

Earlier this week, the 21st Century Business Herald quoted Xu as saying the chance of Baosteel launching a bid for Rio Tinto was "very high".

"BHP's bid plan for Rio Tinto is likely to have huge implications for the world's steel and non-ferrous metal industries," Xu was quoted as saying by the China Securities Journal.

.....

Just a general feeling:

The tragedy and disgrace of the past 7 years are only surpassed by the uncertainty of the next twelve months of this administration, if left in power.

[Tempest]

1. While Bush has been focused on the miniscule Latin American economies

China and Japan are going after the big boys.

[Rydz777]

2. Bush is the "Manchurian candidate," if not by design at least by

incompetence. Addicted to oil and in debt up to our ears, we are completely at the mercy of China and Saudi Arabia.