BEIJING, Dec. 1 -- Premier Wen Jiabao Monday rejected "unfair" calls from European countries for faster reform of China's currency policies, despite lobbying from EU financial chiefs at the weekend.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivers a speech at the closing ceremony of the fifth China-EU Business Summit in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 30, 2009. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing) Photo Gallery>>>
"Some countries demand the yuan's appreciation while practicing various trade protectionism against China. It's unfair and actually limits China's development," Wen told reporters in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, were also at the press conference.
Wen's unusually direct response followed a one-and-a-half hour summit between China and the EU, which has 27 member-nations. The summit ended with five agreements mainly on energy and environmental cooperation.
But it also ended without a breakthrough on issues that have brought stalemate between the sides, such as trade disputes and arms embargoes.
Wen said China will keep the yuan basically stable and carry out currency reform at its own, gradual pace.
A stable yuan is not only good for the Chinese economy but the world, Wen said.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of concern about the rising euro and the possibility it might derail the recovery in Europe, which imports heavily from China.
The yuan began gaining against major currencies after a set of exchange rate reforms were introduced in July 2005. After rising nearly 20 percent against the US dollar, it hovered around 6.83 to the US dollar for about a year. In the past month or so, the euro has risen to a 15-month high.
Euro Group President and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker joined other European leaders in lobbying China's senior officials.
The Chinese officials explained that it was difficult to make a case for "immediate renminbi appreciation" in a country where 40 million people live on less than 1 U.S. dollar a day.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C), European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (R) and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (L), whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, meet with the press after the 12th China-EU summit in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 30, 2009. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing) Photo Gallery>>>
The failure of the EU appeal was expected because Europe was only thinking about itself, claimed Wu Baiyi, a European studies expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Zhao Junjie, Wu's colleague, said that while China is not able to quickly change its currency policy, Beijing had made efforts in the past year to fill the EU trade gap.
"Actually, some of the goods bought by the dozen purchasing groups that China sent to the EU during the past year were bought only for the sake of the EU," he said. "But the EU still wants more."
Glenn Maguire, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg: "China will only adjust on its own terms and in its own time. It's decided that now is not the time to do that."
Despite lingering disputes, including trade protectionism and the EU's ban on the transfer of technology to China, Wen Monday raised expectations for improved relations with Beijing's largest trading partner.
"China and Europe walking together hand-in-hand will make the steps of humankind more steady, and that best illustrates the strategic significance of our ties," said Wen.
Barroso and other EU leaders Monday also applauded fresh Chinese commitments on countering climate change.
Stanley Crossick, founding chairman of the European Policy Centre, said Europe will need to commit to lifting its arms embargo against China.
"Beijing is right that listing China among a handful of embargoed pariah states is totally inconsistent with the treatment of a strategic partner," he said.
Crossick suggested that EU officials be trained in contemporary China and taught Mandarin.
Wen opened the door to better understanding Monday, announcing that 2011 will be the year for China-EU youth communication and the establishment of other youth and cultural exchange mechanisms.
Visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming attends a launching ceremony of China-Swiss joint study to examine the feasibility of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 30, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>
GENEVA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China will maintain the stability of its Renminbi (RMB) exchange rate all along, which does good for the world economic recovery, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Monday.
China's exchange rate reform has continued smoothly, and the value of RMB has risen by some 20 percent against the U.S. dollar since 2005, Chen told reporters in Geneva, where he is attending a ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization. Full story
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C), European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (R) and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, pose for a group photo during the 12th China-EU summit in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 30, 2009. The 12th China-EU summit began here Monday morning. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) Photo Gallery>>>
NANJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to take active measures to increase imports from Europe to address the trade imbalance between China and the European Union (EU), said Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday.
"China does not seek a trade surplus that is beyond a reasonable level, " Wen said when delivering a speech at the closing ceremony of the fifth China-EU Business Summit. Full story
NANJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union, in a joint statement issued Monday, vowed to step up efforts to promote trade and investment and increase effective market access.
The statement was issued on the sidelines of the 12th China-EU Summit held in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province in east China. Full story
¡¡ NANJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday called on China and the European Union (EU) to "stand high and see far" in shaping the future.
Wen made the remarks at a joint press conference after the 12th China-EU summit. He co-chaired the meeting with European Commission President Barroso and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency. Full story
