Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) urged an end to a “zero sum” Cold War relationship with the US and proposed new cooperation, but resisted US arguments about why China should let its currency strengthen.
Indeed, in a sign that the future of the US currency continues to concern the most senior levels of the Chinese government, he said the US dollar-based international currency system is a “product of the past.”
Overall though, Hu, who will visit Washington this week, struck an upbeat tone about ties with the US in a rare written interview with two US newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
“We should abandon the zero-sum Cold War mentality,” he said, and “respect each other’s choice of development path.”
Hu suggested cooperation with the US in areas like new energy sources, clean energy, infrastructure development, aviation and space. He also reassured foreign businesses in China that Beijing would continue to improve laws and regulations affecting them.
And he spoke encouragingly about the outlook for resolving tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
However, Hu also indicated he did not accept US arguments for Beijing to let its currency appreciate. Critics say China’s undervaluing of the yuan gives it an unfair price advantage in international trade, contributing to the huge US trade deficit.
Analysts thought Hu’s generally conciliatory tone augured well ahead of his Washington meetings with US President Barack Obama and other officials.
“Hu makes it clear that China intends to move forward on opening its markets, freeing up its exchange rate and restructuring its political system, but at its own pace and with little heed to external pressures for more rapid or broader reforms,” said Eswar Prasad, a Brookings Institution economist.
Hu said China is fighting inflation with a range of policies including interest-rate increases, and “inflation can hardly be the main factor in determining the exchange rate policy.”
He suggested that inflation, which hit a 28-month high in China last November, was not a big headache, saying prices were “on the whole moderate and controllable.”
“We have the confidence, conditions and ability to stabilize the overall price level,” Hu said.
US lawmakers are among the biggest critics of China’s exchange rate policy. Three Democratic senators — Charles Schumer, Debbie Stabenow and Bob Casey — said on Sunday that they would propose legislation to try and fix the problem. The legislation would impose stiff new penalties on countries that the US Treasury Department designated as currency manipulators.
Hu said it would be a “fairly long process” to make China’s own currency an international one.
He also said “the liquidity of the US dollar should be kept at a reasonable and stable level.”
China has argued that the US Federal Reserve’s November decision to buy US$600 billion in US government bonds would undermine the greenback’s value and lead to competitive currency devaluations by other countries. China, with foreign exchange reserves of US$2.85 trillion, is the largest holder of US debt.
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
REBUFFED: In response to Chinese criticism over recent arms sales, Washington urged Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue instead of threats and intimidation Washington’s long-term commitment to Taiwan would not change, the US Department of State said yesterday, urging Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan and engage in meaningful bilateral dialogues. The remarks came in response to a backlash from Beijing about Washington’s latest approval of arms sales to Taiwan. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US has asked to purchase an arms package, including Tactical Mission Network Software; AH-1W helicopter spare and repair parts; M109A7 self-propelled howitzers; HIMARS long range precision strike systems; tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles; Javelin
RSS