Most multinationals doing business in China have stopped commenting on the potential value of the yuan, partly because they see it as futile to guess what will happen but also because they wish to avoid offending leaders in Beijing, who have repeatedly objected in recent months to international pressure to let the yuan rise.
But the thousands of small and midsize businesses in China that have thrived on exports are clearly worried that their profit margins, already razor-thin, will disappear with a rising yuan. China's state-controlled media has been full of warnings of a possible rise in the yuan for the last couple of years, and equally full of advice on how to stay competitive overseas.
Liu, the coat hangar manufacturer, has followed those lessons and readily repeats them as his company's plan.
"We have to raise the quality of the product and improve the styling," he said, describing a strategy that could someday put even more Chinese companies in competition with American rivals producing high-quality goods.
"Until now," he added, "we've only paid attention to exports, but now we'll have to focus on the domestic market, too."
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