During the China-Eu Summit in Nanjing, Premier Wen Jiabao made clear that the Chinese government is not giving into pressure from the U.S. and other countries to adjust the rate of its currency. From Reuters:
Speaking at a briefing after summit talks with the European Union, Premier Wen Jiabao said the demands being made of Beijing to push up the yuan’s exchange rate were not fair.
He reaffirmed China’s determination to take its own, gradual steps on the currency front but said that for now the yuan, also known as the renminbi, was being kept broadly steady.
“In this international financial crisis of a kind rarely seen in history, maintaining the basic stability of the renminbi exchange rate has benefited China’s economic development and benefited world economic recovery.
“Now some countries, on the one hand, want the renminbi to appreciate but, on the other hand, engage in brazen trade protectionism against China,” Wen said.
The United States in particular has taken a number of steps recently to slow a surge in competitively priced imports from China in sectors including steel, tyres and paper.
See also reports from the Wall Street Journal and Xinhua.
