[nopinsight]

It's clear that the US is much stronger from the asset point of view.

If one looks at real economy, however, China can basically produce almost anything they need, except oil and some advanced electronics (which they are catching up fast and might become self-sufficient within 10 years). The US can do the same in the medium term but it will take time to reestablish its manufacturing industry to cover all needs.

Both are basically self-sufficient if need be. There is no severe weakness in the real economies of either country (except oil for both, over the medium term).

> 3.) US gdp to debt is only around 100%

You mean debt to GDP? Yes for public debt alone, but the same figure for China is around 66%. Check out my post above for comparisons of various measures and references.

[bobthepanda]

Wasn't there concern that local gov't (provincial and municipal) debt in China is very high and very opaque? https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahsu/2018/01/02/fears-over-c...

Local governments in the US are constrained by the very real threat of bankruptcy, and often balanced budget requirements.

[DenisM]

I don't see how self-sufficiency matters (unless war). In a globalized economy you want to keep the high-margin business and offload low-margin business to someone else.

[larkeith]

I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that heavy reliance on imports increases the riskiness of debt, as external pressures and events can impact the debtor without recourse (whereas even in the event of a local industry failure, imports remain a stabilizing secondary option).

[nopinsight]

In an event of financial crunches, a self-sufficient economy should still be able to hold its own without dire threats from cut of essential imports. Its economic crisis could be quite bad but won’t be catastrophic, as in some well-known cases we’ve read about in the news.