Safe guards on currency? What? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
No, China could dump its holdings in US funds and ruin the economy. Inflation for everyone!
As for domestic steel, etc... There is no way the US could survive a long term conventional war because of the lack of heavy industry. Even in the 1930's, before WWII, there was plenty of heavy industry.
And by war I mean a large scale operation like WWII. There's a war in Iraq, but that's not as huge as WWII.
A great example is what happened to the South in the Civil War. The massive lack of heavy industry in the South gave the North a huge advantage.
The US needs to turn around. The US needs to lose foreign dependence.