Raising the barricades.

Complaints about China are a big political issue in Washington, D.C., as Congressional committees held hearings about unfair competition from China and its cheap currency. Grassroots groups have sprung up across America's manufacturing heartland to represent smaller businesses and promote a mixture of protectionism and patriotism. Mr. Bush's economic team is worried that the China issue will escalate as the election nears, particularly if the jobs outlook remains glum. They are right to be concerned. The political backlash in America is likely to gain momentum as China's role in the global economy becomes ever more prominent. This is not a temporary blip that relies on a cheap currency. It is a structural shift based on economic reform, huge reserves of cheap labour and a rapidly improving infrastructure. China's integration promises vast benefits for the global economy, but it comes at an awkward time. And there are more China-related shocks on the way. The Multifibre Arrangement, a quota system that has governed, and distorted, the world textile market for decades, is scheduled to expire. Apart from agriculture, textiles and clothing are among the last products where governments rather than markets determine trade patterns. China, with its army of low-paid workers, will be a big winner from the demise of this regime. America's small but highly protectionist and politically sensitive textile industry will be hurt, and will shout. But it is other developing countries that will feel serious strain. Textile production is the first rung on the manufacturing ladder for many poor countries. The quota system has guaranteed such countries access to America and other rich-country markets. Without quotas many will lose out to China. Their protests will coincide with rising anti-China sentiment in American manufacturing, creating an atmosphere in which protectionism could flourish.