Special Report: Global Financial
Crisis
BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of
China, the country's central bank, disproved Saturday the allegations by a U.S.
Treasury official that China is manipulating the exchange rates of its currency,
saying the statement is untrue and misleading.
Su Ning, vice governor of the central bank, said that
the allegation could sidetrack the effort to track the real cause of the
financial crisis.
"President Obama -- backed by the conclusions of a
broad range of economists -- believes that China is manipulating its currency,"
the U.S. Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner wrote to the Senate
Finance Committee in documents released on Thursday.
"Also, we should avoid any excuse that might lead to
the revitalization of trade protectionism. Because it will do no good to the
fight against the crisis, nor will it help the healthy and stable development of
the global economy," Su said.
Yi Xianrong, a researcher with the financial research
center of the CASS, told Xinhua on Friday if the U.S. labeled China as a
"currency manipulator," it would hurt the concerted action of fighting the
global financial crisis.
It would also hamper the global efforts to shake off
an economic slowdown as the Sino-U.S. economic tie had become one of the world's
most important bilateral economic ties, Yi said.
According to China customs statistics, Sino-U.S.
trade hit 333.74 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 10.5 percent year on year.
With a 9-percent rate, China contributed more than 20
percent of global economic growth in 2008, while the U.S. remained the world's
largest economy, Yi said.
Geithner's comment was just aiming to try out the
Chinese government's response, said Zuo Xiaolei, senior analyst with the
Beijing-based Galaxy Securities.
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.
In July 2005, China abandoned a decade-old peg to the
U.S. dollar and allowed its currency to appreciate by 2.1 percent. Since then,
the yuan has strengthened further, rising more than 20 percent against the U.S.
dollar.
Currency manipulation claim fans
Sino-U.S. trade fears
BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The China currency
manipulation comment by the U.S. Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner
has sparked worries that China would face increasing pressure from U.S. trade
protectionism, Chinese economists said.
"This is the first comment made by the Obama
administration on Sino-U.S. economic ties," said Cao Honghui, a researcher with
the Institute of Finance under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
Its undoubtedly a signal of more frictions on trade and currency issues between
the two nations, he said. Full story
Geithner remarks "may reflect" policy
shift
BEIJING, Jan. 23 -- Remarks by US treasury
secretary-elect Timothy Geithner that China is "manipulating" its currency
suggest the Obama administration will take a firm stance on its economic
policies toward Beijing, local analysts said on Friday.
Geithner told senators on Thursday the new administration will press China to
change its exchange rate policies. His comments were a clear move away from the
stance of the Bush administration, which did not label China as a currency
manipulator. Full story
