阅读理解

　　After the U．S．House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at retaliatory(报复的)action against China for its“significantly undervalued”currency, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged the IMF to pressure China to adopt“more flexible, more market-directed exchange-rate management”．This is a coded message to China：You're keeping on purpose your currency cheap, and the U．S．economy is paying the price．So cut it out－or else．The normally dull IMF meeting became the latest battleground for the U．S．to be against a fast developing China．

　　Our new conventional wisdom is that China's policy leads to make trade deficits(逆差)greater and the loss of American jobs．Dozens of candidates have run ads attacking a competitor for allowing China to take advantage of us．In the election-year view, China grew 10％ annually for the past decade while maintaining low inflation(通涨)only by taking advantage of its artificially low currency．The idea that the U．S．is not responsible for its own economy is a black-is-white view．It argues that China and its currency are causing the lion's share of harm．

　　This is an argument born of fear．It covers a fact that the economies of China and the U．S．have become beneficial to each other．Those trillions in reserves that China accumulates：Where do they go?Back to the U．S．in the form of lending money to the federal government．Those made-in-China goods that account for the trade deficit：Whom do they benefit?China, yes, but also American consumers and companies．Without China, American companies could not have maintained their profitability in recent years．Take two brand names, Caterpillar and Nike．Both have their products made in China, but both also view China as a fast-growing market for their products．

　　George Soros warned recently that a currency war could put the world into disorder more damaging than anything caused by the financial crisis of the 1930s．He's right．Whether we like it or not, we live in a global system．The zero-sum attitude toward China and its currency is a relic, the remaining of an earlier time when nations defined economic life．

　　China is far from perfect and seeks its own advantage, but holding it accountable for our domestic problems is beyond outdated．It reflects a dangerous refusal to deal with the world as it is．Retaliating against China over currency will not regain high-end jobs in the U．S．, which needs more our own demand．It will not renew construction or retool the American labor force．It will not rebuild rotting bridges or create a next-generation energy network．