From Bloomberg News (link)
Pressure on China to allow the nation’s currency to rise faster may intensify after President Hu Jintao said yesterday that the world’s fourth-largest economy grew faster than economists expected.
The nation’s gross domestic product expanded 10.2 percent in the first quarter, more than any of 25 forecasts in a survey by Bloomberg News, and up from 9.9 percent in the previous period. The median growth estimate in the Bloomberg survey was for 9.6 percent.
Hu is facing demands to let the yuan appreciate from the U.S., where the currency will top the agenda of his April 20 meeting with President George W. Bush in Washington. Pressure for the currency to rise is also growing within China as the costs of keeping it at its present level against the dollar hinder the government’s ability to manage the economy.
