A senior Chinese finance official called on the world on Saturday to oppose
the rising protectionism and promote progress in the Doha Round.
People's Bank of China
Deputy Governor Hu Xiaolian, left, and IMF First Deputy Managing Director
John Lipsky, right, attend the International Monetary and Financial
Committee meeting, April 14, 2007, in Washington. [AP]
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Hu Xiaolian, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said that all
countries should make efforts to create a favorable globalization environment in
which all countries may participate on an equal and beneficial footing.
"With trade protectionism pressures growing, measures taken by certain
countries --under the pretext of righting global imbalances -- will hinder the
trade liberalization process," Hu said at the spring meetings of the IMF and the
World Bank.
"We call on all countries to harness the opportunities created by
globalization, pursue timely structural readjustments, resolutely oppose
protectionism, promote progress in the Doha Round," she said.
Hu, who attended the meetings on behalf of Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of
China's central bank, also welcomed the IMF's efforts to strengthen surveillance
in safeguarding global financial stability and promoting the economic prosperity
of its members.
"We have noted the efforts to strengthen Fund surveillance since the
Singapore Meetings, including through possible revision of the 1977 Decision on
Surveillance over Exchange Rate Policies," she said.
"In this regard, we wish to emphasize that, first, revision of the Decision
should not proceed too hastily," she said. "In making adequate and careful
analysis, the Fund must take the opinions of all concerned parties into account
and build broad consensus among all member countries to ensure that it would
benefit them all."
Second, in strengthening surveillance, the Fund should be realistic, and not
overestimate, the role of exchange rate, Hu said.
"Biased advice would damage the Fund's role in safeguarding global economic
and financial stability," she said, while emphasizing that the focus of
surveillance should be consistent with the purposes laid out in the Fund's
Articles of Agreement.
"Due respect should be paid to the fundamental role of sustaining growth in
promoting external stability. External stability can only contribute to overall
sustained stability when anchored by domestic stability," she concluded.
Also Saturday, Hu Xiaolian said that China's economic growth model has
undergone welcome changes and its economy will continue on path of steady and
fast growth.
"The Chinese economy is projected to remain on a fast growth track --
exceeding 8 percent in real terms -- in 2007," she said, adding that the
government will give more emphasis to the quality and sustainability of economic
growth.
She also said the reform of the China's foreign exchange regulatory framework
has steadily deepened. "The RMB exchange rate formation mechanism is being
improved and flexibility of the RMB exchange rate has increased significantly,"
she said.