China's foreign exchange reforms have made "significant progress," though the impact will be seen over time, Beijing's central bank governor told fellow financial leaders yesterday.
The remarks by the governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan (周小川), came amid calls from other delegates to the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank for more action to ensure flexibility in currency rates.
"Significant progress has been made to improve the exchange regime to allow greater flexibility," Zhou said of China's controls on its currency, the yuan, which Beijing says are needed to protect its developing economy.
"The impact of these policies will be felt over time," he said.
Critics of China's currency policies say they keep the yuan artificially undervalued, making China's exports cheaper overseas and boosting its exports.
A US official meanwhile urged the fund, which seeks to promote financial stability and provides loans to countries in crisis, to step up its oversight of currency issues.
"The encouragement of appropriate exchange rate policies to facilitate international trade and global growth remain the IMF's most fundamental responsibilities," US Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Clay Lowery said.
"This entails rigorous assessments of members' exchange-rate regimes," Lowery said, warning that ceding that role would result in countries taking action independently, "frankly to the detriment of us all."
IMF President Rodrigo de Rato acknowledged the calls for more surveillance over currency issues.
"The responsibility of the IMF is very clear. We are, we have a mandate to macroeconomic and financial stability," de Rato said, adding that "exchange rates form part of that mandate."
But such discussions are not done in public, he said.
"At the same time, as it is known, the discussion of exchange rate equilibrium positions is held in a discreet way because it is very sensitive information sometimes," he said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is set to issue sea and land warnings for Tropical Storm Krathon as projections showed that the tropical storm could strengthen into a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan proper, the CWA said yesterday. The sea warning is scheduled to take effect this morning and the land warning this evening, it said. The storm formed yesterday morning and in the evening reached a point 620 nautical miles (1,148km) southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, moving west-southwest at 4 kph as it strengthened, the CWA said. Its radius measured between 220km and 250km, it added. Krathon is projected
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