Global Voices: How the U.S. Is Seen Now

From Venezuela to Japan, government officials and people on the street share their thoughts with BusinessWeek about the U.S. financial crisis

by Jack Ewing

As the world absorbed the magnitude of the U.S. financial crisis, BusinessWeek reporters around the world fanned out to gauge opinion. The big surprise: From Middle East financiers to Paris taxi drivers, people abroad draw a distinction between the excesses of Wall Street and the entrepreneurial spirit of the rest of the country. America retains its reputation as a (slightly tarnished) beacon of free enterprise. Here are excerpts from what people told us:

Thomas Naughton, chief investment officer for equities at PMA Investment Advisors in Hong Kong:
The U.S. financial system as a role model for developing countries, that's gone. But the perception of the U.S. in Asia is still very strong. People want to go there to study, they want to work at U.S. companies, they want to sell in the U.S. market. Outside the financial sector, corporate America is in good shape. [But] now we're seeing the rise of India, China, Russia. The world is much more multilateral.

Guy Rotberg, co-founder and CEO of meijob.com, an Israeli-backed, Beijing-based online job search engine:
I think the U.S. still has a lot to say. The competition is going to be pretty fierce between the U.S. and China, but currently, I think the U.S. is a very strong No. 1.

Calin Popescu Tariceanu, Prime Minister of Romania:
The U.S. financial crisis might even have positive effects, since some U.S. real estate assets will become cheaper and there might be Romanians ready to buy such assets.

Teodor Melescanu, Defense Minister of Romania:
Such as, perhaps, the Lehman Brothers headquarters.

Zhang Min, founder and owner of Tsingtao Joint Well Caps in Tsingtao City, China, a maker of baseball and golf caps for brands such as Taylor Made. About 85% his products go to the U.S. market:

The U.S. has been a good model … the U.S. is the teacher, and China, we are the students. But I think the financial crisis occurred because some people in the U.S. played the game too much. If the U.S. government had watched more closely and taken action earlier, the situation could be better. The U.S. has too many opportunities for speculators. The free market is a good thing but nothing is all good; you have to keep a good balance. Opportunities should be for investors instead of speculators.