The Group of 20 nations said some Asian countries need to allow their currencies to appreciate more after European and Canadian officials stepped up pressure on China in the past week.
The G20 agreed on the need for "greater exchange-rate flexibility in a number of surplus countries" in "emerging Asia," according to a statement released yesterday after two days of talks in Kleinmond, South Africa.
The G20 groups the largest developed countries, including the US, France and Canada, with emerging markets such as China and India.
G7 officials have strengthened their rhetoric on China as concern mounts the country isn't shouldering enough of the dollar's slide, garnering an unfair advantage for its exporters.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said yesterday the yuan is "causing tensions" and Canada's Jim Flaherty said on Saturday China and other Asian countries "need to do more."
The euro and the Canadian dollar have soared to records against the US currency as China restrains the yuan's exchange rate. While China has allowed its currency to rise about 5 percent against the dollar this year, it has fallen against the euro by about the same amount.
The G20 didn't go as far as the G7's statement last month, which singled out China and the need for an "accelerated appreciation" of the yuan.
The US currency has dropped about 11 percent so far this year, based on the Federal Reserve's US Trade-Weighted Major Currency Index. It fell this month to its weakest against the euro since the European currency's debut in 1999, to a 26-year low versus the pound and the lowest against Canada's dollar since it was floated in 1950.
"Greater balance in exchange rates provides us with stability," South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said at a press conference to conclude the G20 meeting.
The G20 also said that "rising energy and food prices will remain an important source of price pressures" and central banks "will need to assess carefully the inflation outlook in light of both tight conditions in commodity markets and the downside risks to growth."
Policy makers around the world are trying to curb inflation just as fallout from the biggest US housing slump in 16 years spreads through financial markets and a weaker dollar threatens growth.
While the US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates twice since September to shore up US expansion, policy makers in India, China and the euro nations are worried about accelerating inflation.
The statement said G20 nations agreed that easing lopsided trade and investment flows is a "shared responsibility."
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS