This month China will have $1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. This is a result of "China's success as an exporter to the world." China has invested most of its reserves in long-term US Treasury bonds. This investment ties the U.S. economy to China. "China's trade surplus, the difference between the amount it sells and buys from the world, has topped $100bn, with the imbalance especially marked with the US. As a result, China receives more and more foreign currency each year, which it puts in its reserves. But China's currency reserves are now so large that some economists fear they will unbalance the entire global economy. In particular, a large percentage of the long term bonds issued by the United States are owned by China. The ramifications of this fact have not been fully explored in the news media. The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6106280.stm Pam