Finance ministers from APEC yesterday said they were committed to addressing weaknesses in their economies, but said they would not seek to gain a competitive edge by weakening their currencies.
“We will refrain from competitive devaluation and resist all forms of protectionism,” ministers from the 21-member group said in a statement at the end of a meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu.
“We maintain our commitment to strengthening economic growth and promoting financial stability in the APEC region,” they said, even as they conceded risks to growth remained significant.
The Cebu meeting took place amid growing concern about the slowdown in China, the world’s second-largest economy, and recent swings in global financial markets following its devaluation of the yuan last month.
China has insisted that the devaluation was not part of a currency war, but was aimed at making its exchange rate more closely reflect market conditions.
Speaking at a closing ceremony, Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Shi Yaobin (史耀斌) said volatility in Chinese stock and currency markets was temporary.
“The exchange rate movements in the past month is because of technical reasons and factors, and will not affect the stability of financial markets in the future,” Shi told a press briefing.
APEC members include Taiwan, the US, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Canada and together account for 57 percent of global production and 46.5 percent of world trade.
On the whole, delegates to the two-day meeting have been circumspect in their comments, often speaking in bland terms about the need for greater financial integration.
However, Malaysian Deputy Minister of Finance Johari Abdul Ghani said talk of integration might not amount to much because decisions taken by APEC’s larger economies were having a big impact on smaller ones.
“Developed countries with much stronger economies have to be mindful of any action they take, as it affects smaller countries in APEC,” he said, singling out China’s devaluation and eventual rises in US interest rates.
Malaysia’s ringgit has slumped by 18.87 percent against the US dollar this year and is the worst-performing major currency in Asia.
“We want to have financial integration, but at the same time, when you have developed countries like the US, China, for example, anything they do will affect some of the emerging countries. The impact of this is that the integration will not to happen,” Johari said.
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