Michael Pettis says a great rebalancing is coming and China will pay for it. It’s strange how the man who insists that power decides who pays never tests his claim on Washington. The Beijing-based economist has been warning that a great rebalancing is coming since he published a book called The Great Rebalancing. That was in 2013.

His latest Foreign Affairs offering? You guessed it: “A Great Rebalancing Is Coming: Who Will Bear the Costs of a Global Trade Adjustment?”

It’s the same plot: Today’s trade imbalances are untenable. China, Germany and a few others sell far more than they buy. America buys far more than it sells. And for a rich economy, a permanent deficit means either more joblessness or more debt. How about both?