Angle falsely suggested that U.S. is closing trade gap with China
SUMMARY: Fox News' Jim Angle falsely suggested that the U.S. has begun to close its trade deficit with China. Noting that Chinese President Hu Jintao "said China is shifting away from a reliance on exports to the U.S. to fuel its economy and moving, instead, toward more consumption at home," Angle uncritically reported that, according to President Bush and Hu, "that is already happening, to some extent, as U.S. exports to China increased last year by 21 percent." However, Angle failed to note that imports from China to the U.S. increased nearly 24 percent during the same period, further widening the U.S.-China trade deficit by 25 percent over 2004.
Reporting on an April 20 meeting between President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao during that day's edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, chief White House correspondent Jim Angle falsely suggested that the United States has begun to close its trade deficit with China. Noting that Hu "said China is shifting away from a reliance on exports to the U.S. to fuel its economy and moving, instead, toward more consumption at home," Angle uncritically reported that, according to Bush and Hu, "that is already happening, to some extent, as U.S. exports to China increased last year by 21 percent." However, Angle failed to note that imports from China to the United States increased nearly 24 percent during the same period, further widening the U.S.-China trade deficit by 25 percent over 2004, according to federal census data.
Angle also ignored the growing U.S. trade deficit with China in reporting that, according to Bush, the 21 percent increase in U.S. exports to China "means American jobs." A January 2005 report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) found that the United States lost 1.5 million jobs to lower-wage Chinese competition during the period of 1989 to 2003, when the trade deficit multiplied by a factor of 20. The deficit has risen between 20 percent and 31 percent every year since 2001.
|
Year |
Trade Deficit |
Change from prior year |
|
2005 |
$201,625.8 |
+25% |
|
2004 |
161,938.0 |
+31% |
|
2003 |
124,068.2 |
+20% |
|
2002 |
103,064.9 |
+24% |
|
2001 |
83,096.1 | |
|
Exports to U.S. |
Imports from U.S. | |
|
2005 |
$243,462.3 |
$41,836.5 |
|
2004 |
196,682.0 |
34,744.1 |
|
Change |
+23.78% |
+20.41% |
From the April 20 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:
ANGLE: The leaders of the biggest economy in the world and the fastest-growing one did agree on one thing today: how to get the Chinese economy to sell less and buy more. President Hu said China is shifting away from a reliance on exports to the U.S. to fuel its economy and moving instead toward more consumption at home.
HU (through translator): China pursues a policy of boosting domestic demand, which means that we will mainly rely on domestic demand expansion to -- to further promote the economic growth of the country.
ANGLE: And President Bush, after noting the current situation is unsustainable, agreed that is what China can and must do.
BUSH: What else is very much important is that for the -- as the Chinese society evolves, that it becomes an economy that is not export-driven but consumer-driven.
ANGLE: Both leaders argued that is already happening to some extent, as U.S. exports to China increased last year by 21 percent. And that, the president said, means American jobs.
BUSH: Because, as there's more consumers and market access, it will mean that U.S. small businesses and businesses and farmers will have a chance to be able to find new markets.
When Angle stated that "U.S. exports to China increased last year by 21 percent", he was probably including the tons of T-bills, pirated intellectual property, manufacturing jobs and shiploads of machinery removed from closed U.S. factories.
Yeah, that's it.
I'm glad MMFA documents this guy, but I do find him to be very, very sad.
He was actually pretty good on NPR/APR, but then he sold his soul for the big bucks at Fox.
So now he parrots RNC spin while we sell off our country to the Chinese in the form of T-bills.
And he could never, ever mention Rupert Murdoch's deals with the Chinese as part of his report.
Sad.
How many times have any of us watched Fox News uncritically present a Bush White House press release as hard news? That's what's going on here. Jim Angle repeats as absolute fact the Hu/Bush talking points to lend them more credibility.
The sad part is most Fox News viewers are being told exactly what they want to hear so they uncritically absorb the propaganda as truth multiplying the ignorance.
Maybe this is what Angle was referring to.
ANGLE: Both leaders argued that is already happening to some extent, as U.S. exports to China increased last year by 21 percent. And that, the president said, means American jobs.
In light of the above quote, I'd say, um, no. Intentionally misleading. MMFA nailed Fox and the B-Team apologists again.
Has anyone witnessed more HYUNDAY containers unloaded in China vs US ??????:"