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Currency manipulation claim fans Sino-US trade fears
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-24 10:28 It would hurt the concerted action of fighting the global financial crisis if the US labeled China as a "currency manipulator", said Yi Xianrong, a researcher with the financial research center of the CASS. It would also hamper the global efforts to shake off an economic slowdown as the Sino-US economic tie had become one of the world's most important bilateral economic ties, Yi said.
"The question is how and when to broach the subject in order to do more good than harm," Geithner said in his written answers. The Obama administration looks forward to a productive economic dialogue with the Chinese government on a number of short- and long-term issues, said Geithner, and "the yuan is certainly an important piece of that discussion." However, "given the crisis, the immediate focus needs to be on the broader issue of stabilizing domestic demand in China and the US," he said. According to Mei Xinyu, a researcher at China's Ministry of Commerce, Geithner's accusation of currency manipulation was to "suit the fancy of the US Senate" as he needed Senate approval for his official nomination. On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee endorsed Geithner as the US treasury secretary. The nomination was expected to win approval by the full Senate next week. China should not care too much about the currency manipulation comment, and carry on its reform of formation mechanism of renminbi exchange rates, Mei said. In July 2005, China abandoned a decade-old peg to the US dollar and allowed its currency to appreciate by 2.1 percent. Since then, the yuan has strengthened further, mostly slowly, and risen more than 20 percent against the US dollar. Yuan appreciation and the pace of appreciation should not only be decided by trade surplus but also the status of domestic economic development, Zuo said. "The price advantage of Chinese exports may not be a result of currency issues, but the country's lower costs of labor, resources and land," she said. Xinhua learnt that the People's Bank of China, the central bank, was preparing for a response on Geithner's comment.
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