It would have taken a heart of stone not to smile at the spectacle of Hank Paulson, US Treasury secretary, receiving a lecture on economic stabilisation from Chinese officials. Zhou Xioachuan, governor of the Chinese central bank, blamed US over-consumption for the crisis, while Wang Qishan, the leader of the Chinese delegation, urged Mr Paulson to guarantee the safety of Chinese investments in the US. At a separate event in Hong Kong, the chairman of China’s sovereign wealth fund pointed out that many developing countries had clearer and more consistent economy policies than Mr Paulson did. Ouch.

Yet just because Mr Paulson has stumbled badly in recent months does not mean that China is on the right track. Zhou Xioachuan is wrong to urge a higher savings rate in the US. The US consumer is in full retreat; were the retreat to become a rout, China’s factories would be among the first to be ruined. To commandeer Saint Augustine’s prayer: “Give us global rebalancing – but not yet.”