China’s President Hu Jintao left Wednesday for the Group of 20 summit in Canada where he could face new pressure over Beijing’s currency controls and world efforts to rein in ally North Korea.
Hu will pay a three-day state visit to Canada before attending the weekend G20 meeting in Toronto, accompanied by central bank head Zhou Xiaochuan, commerce minister Chen Deming and others, the foreign ministry said.
It will be his first international appearance since the central bank at the weekend pledged further reform of the yuan and also comes after a report in May blamed North Korea for the deadly sinking of a South Korean ship.
The People’s Bank of China’s announcement on the yuan Saturday fuelled expectations that Beijing would loosen its grip on the currency.
However, Beijing has doused hopes for a large revaluation sought by trading partners such as the United States, and Hu could face calls for a further commitment to free up the currency.