Beijing - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday
China 'agreed' to the need for increased flexibility for the Chinese
yuan.
'Continued progress and flexibility is important, and the Chinese
side agrees,' Paulson told a press conference after two days of
economic dialogue, also praising China's cooperation in dealing with
the global financial crisis.
US concerns over the Chinese exchange rate policy were a central
feature of the high-level talks, with Paulson stressing 'the
importance of domestic-led growth, and the importance of a
market-determined currency in promoting balanced growth in China.'
The US recognized that currency movements would be 'uneven over
shorter periods,' but encouraged China to 'continue and accelerate'
the appreciation and flexibility of its currency, a US fact sheet
distributed after the talks said.
This week, China's central bank depreciated the yuan slightly
against the dollar, halting a steady trend which saw a 20-per-cent
rise of the yuan since 2005, thereby fuelling US criticism that China
was making its exports cheaper by using currency manipulation.
While not acceding to US demands, China's Trade Minister Chen
Deming told journalists that his country would not use a weak yuan to
prop up exports.
At the fifth Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which was
initiated by Paulson in 2006, China and the US pledged to continue
high-level cooperation when president-elect Barack Obama takes
office. 'China looks forward to continuing candid and pragmatic talks
with the new US administration,' Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan was
quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.
The two sides, after two days of 'robust dialogue,' reached an
important consensus on how to deal with the global financial turmoil,
Paulson said.
China and the US agreed to strengthen financial regulation and
enhance the role of developing countries in international financial
institutions, Wang said.
In a move to support trade, both sides pledged 20 billion dollars
of credit for financing US and Chinese exports to developing
economies.
USA
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