We are in a fairly advanced stage of economic mutual interdependence. I think the Chinese can pull the rug out from under our economy only if they want to pull the rug out from under themselves…I think it is neither of our interests to see that unravel. If we can find ways to manage our differences and cooperate where we can, we both win. If not, we both lose.

—Kenneth Lieberthal, a China specialist with the Brookings Institution

We are really put in a corner. China will not take any irrational action. We don’t want to hurt you — because if we hurt you, we hurt ourselves first. It’s a kind of synergy.

—Yu Yongding, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

They’re in the dollar trap. There’s no easy way out of it.

—Nicholas Lardy

China is a big customer for U.S. debt, but it is not America’s banker. Nor is the United States dependent on China to finance its budget deficits.

—Steven Dunaway, CFR