Chimerica is a neologism and portmanteau coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick describing the symbiotic relationship between China and the United States, with incidental reference to the legendary chimera. Although the term is largely in reference to economics, there is also a political element. Historian Niall Ferguson and economist Moritz Schularick first coined the term in late 2006, arguing that saving by the Chinese and overspending by Americans led to an incredible period of wealth creation that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. For years, China accumulated large currency reserves and channeled them into US government securities, which kept nominal and real long-term interest rates artificially low in the United States. Ferguson describes Chimerica as one economy which "accounts for around 13 percent of the world's land surface