In order for China to be on par with the U.S., in terms of gold reserves to currency ratio, China would have to nearly quadruple its gold reserves.

FORBES: Year of the Golden Rabbit

The country's debt ratio the ratio between external debt and hard-currency income stands at a comfortable 75% or so, well below the 100% level that starts to ring alarm bells.

ECONOMIST: Reading their lips | The

That seems reasonable, since the main reason that Thailand's currency, the baht, collapsed two years ago was a high ratio of short-term foreign debt to foreign reserves.

ECONOMIST: The IMF and East Asia