China input needed to "normalize" U.S. economy: Argentine op-ed

The U.S. economy cannot return to normal without China's help, according to an editorial recently published by leading Argentine daily Clarin.

Headlined "Obama and Xi Jinping set the rules," the article written by international analyst Jorge Castro asserts that "the U.S. economy cannot be 'normalized' without the backing of China."

Castro, who wrote the article in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States, defined normalization as "setting interest rates that are consistent with the rate of potential growth."

"After seven years of inaction, and 5.3 percent of unemployment in June, the Federal Reserve did not increase the interest rates, and argued it was due to deflationary pressure from China," wrote Castro, who acknowledged that "recent global events have restricted economic activity" in China, which in turn affected other economies.

The key to the relationship, he said, is the Bilateral Investment Treaty, which will conclude in 2016 and implies the unrestricted access of capital from both countries to all of the other's productive and service sectors except for a handful of security interests.

"The Xi Jinping and Barack Obama agenda is oriented towards the future, founded on a common vision," said Castro.

The first point on that agenda, said Castro, is a climate change agreement that represents the "common policy" to be presented at the December 2015 environmental conference in Paris.

The second is completing a nuclear agreement with Iran that will cement its role as an ally in the struggle to defeat the Islamic State in Syria, and the third is resolving the nuclear challenge in the Korean Peninsula, said Castro.

These points are important to the future world and reflect the significance of the Xi-Obama meeting, Castro concluded. Endi