Barbarian Treasury Secretary Fails to Convince Middle Kingdom Scions

My friend and I were wondering aloud yesterday about whether East Asian cultures have a different sense of humor. Here's one American funnyman who got a chuckle:

"Chinese financial assets are very safe," Geithner said [in a question-and-answer session after a speech to students at Peking University]. His response drew laughter from the audience.

Tim Geithner is the Secretary of the Treasury.