'Do We Want China To Fail?' Patrick Chovanec Says Question To Policymakers Caused 'Awkward' Silence

Patrick Chovanec, an economic adviser at Silvercrest Asset Management, said his question to economic policymakers a few years ago about China was met with "awkward" silence.

What Happened: Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator for the Financial Times, wrote in an opinion piece that it is important for the U.S. and the European Union to be clear that their goal is not to stop China from becoming richer but prevent its growing wealth from being used to threaten its neighbors or intimidate its trading partners.

“Do we want China to fail?” was a question that Rachman encountered at a seminar he attended for western policymakers and commentators.

Also Read: Gold IRA Kit

Citing Rachman’s tweet, Chovanec said he had raised the same question at a gathering of economic policymakers a few years ago. “The awkward silence in the room was deafening," he said.

‘Several reasonably plugged-in people came up to me afterwards and said 'You know the answer to that question. Yes.'" Chovanec said.

He believes that past U.S. policy was to encourage constructive economic reform in China and mitigate the prospect of economic instability there. 

However, Chovanec raised an interesting question about the current U.S. policy. “Is U.S. policy now to retard China’s development and aggravate economic instability there?” he asked.

On Communist Party: Chovanec also highlighted the popular sentiment against the Chinese Communist Party among his audience.

"I also think a lot of people who answer 'I want China to succeed but the CCP to fail' aren’t being completely honest to themselves about the kind of China they could live with and not see as a threat, even if it weren’t ruled by the current regime," he tweeted.

Read Next: Top Economist El-Erian Thinks Bonds Warrant A 'More Differentiated' View As Credit Risk Is Far From Done