Indeed, it could be pivotal depending on how they handle it. I'm no fan of the CCP's authoritarianism, but part of me is hoping they do the hard right thing, write off the bad debt, resolve the zombie banks and companies, take the short-term hit, and then quickly recover.

It seems that a peer competitor benefiting from doing the hard right thing seems like the only thing that could force the US govt back on track at this point.