President Barack Obama called a fifth day of talks Thursday with his Republican foes on averting an early August debt default, as largest US creditor China sounded the alarm over the impact of a possible stalemate. Amid mounting market worries of a ruinous breakdown, and growing political acrimony over the crisis, Obama floated the possibility of moving the contentious negotiations to the storied Camp David presidential retreat, senior Democratic and Republican aides told AFP.
But Republican US House Speaker John Boehner "has told the White House he sees no need to go to Camp David this weekend," said his spokesman Michael Steel, confirming that the White House had "discussed the possibility." The secluded compound, a favourite summer spot for US presidents since the 1940s, is best known as the birthplace of a 1978 Middle East peace deal agreed to there by the leaders of the United States, Israel and Egypt.
A Democratic aide earlier told AFP that moving the talks to the retreat, some 70 miles from the White House in Maryland's Catoctin mountains, was "being discussed as an option" but that no final decision had been made. An aide to Obama did not deny the possibility but insisted talks "for the next couple days" would stay in Washington and promised "if we have different plans, we'll let people know," as pressure mounted on the negotiators.
China - Washington's largest creditor, with an estimated $1.275 trillion in holdings - urged the United States to safeguard the interests of its investors after ratings agency Moody's warned US debt could lose its sterling triple-A rating. "We hope the US government adopts responsible policy and measures to ensure the interests of investors," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a briefing.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.