China people work hard to produce products for Americans every day, and we give them some pieces of paper. China people want to use these pieces of paper. For example, when they bought Unocal Oil Company a few years ago, they found that these pieces of paper could not achieve their desired purpose. China's annual trade surplus exceeds $200 billion. When they find that dollars can't buy what they want, they will ask, why should they be exported to the United States instead of for their own use? At present, China's exports are facing two major problems, one is the sharp drop in external demand, and the other is the danger of long-term depreciation of the US dollar exchanged for exports. In this case, stimulating domestic demand can make up for the decline in external demand and avoid the danger of a sharp depreciation of the US dollar.
China has huge foreign exchange reserves. Many people think that China's investment in US Treasury bonds is risky. As long as there is a huge trade surplus, China's dollar reserves will increase. In fact, China has many options to use its foreign exchange reserves, such as investing in the US real estate market and stock market. And China's concern about China's large holdings of US Treasury bonds is justified. Any non-U.S. investor who holds U.S. Treasury bonds for a long time will face the threat of declining purchasing power of the dollar. However, although this is a problem for China, it is not the worst problem.
China has a bright future, and the development of China has just begun. I will tell all China people that living in this era is much better than 100 or 200 years ago. There are many good opportunities for the economy to continue to develop, and China's position in the world will continue to rise and become more and more important on the world stage. The Olympic Games held in Beijing last year were unbelievable. No one can be better than it. The world is discovering China, and China is also discovering the world.
I have never made any specific comments on the China stock market. I don't predict that the stock market will enter the commercial field. My consistent view is that if the market falls, it will be more attractive than before. I don't predict the stock market, I only react when the market falls. China's economic development is a miracle, and many people in China are very enthusiastic about stocks.
I read the annual report of PetroChina in the spring of 2002. I have never asked anyone's opinion. At that time, I thought the company was worth $654.38 billion, but its market value was only $35 billion. I don't like to do things to three decimal places. If someone weighs about 300 to 350 Jin, I don't need an accurate weight to know that he is a fat man. If you can't make a decision based on the figures in PetroChina's annual report, look at the next company.
We should learn from the people of China. Great changes are taking place in China. I went to Dalian last year and drove for about 45 minutes. I saw hundreds of new factories built in recent years, and China people began to release their energy. In the past few centuries, China people have the ability, but the system does not allow people to do things. Now China people's energy is beginning to be released.
I don't think that getting rich in China means that the United States will become poor. It is crazy to be too skeptical about the fast-developing China. Some people in our country like to blame others for their problems. When CNOOC acquired Unocal a few years ago, hundreds of members of Congress voted to condemn the acquisition. I think this is crazy, and so is China's sovereign wealth fund. We import so many products from China and send so many dollars to China every year, but we don't want China to invest these dollars here. I think it is wrong to regard China as a scapegoat for other countries' economic problems, and Sino-US relations may be tense, which I don't want to see.