Exactly. People have been going on how much the Chinese owe the US but it's that old classic line about "if you owe the bank a billion dollars". One of three

Exactly. People have been going on how much the Chinese owe the US but it's that old classic line about "if you owe the bank a billion dollars". One of three things will happen: 1. A US president will stand up in front of the people and tell the country they cannot have schools, health care or the military as they must pay back the Chinese (and other creditors). 2. The US economy will grow faster than the debt. 3. The US will devalue the dollar through printing money until the debt is serviceable (perhaps in combination by some economic growth). Scenario 1 seems absurd. 2 has been the stated approach to debt to date but is no longer reasonable. 3 seems almost inevitable. The Chinese leadership wouldn't much care about the money since it's been an unwilling participant the whole way through, however they do fear the wrath of their people which has the potential to be cataclysmic. And seemingly being played the fool by the US will cause a huge loss of face indeed. It'll be interesting to see how they try to spin it internally.