China said yesterday the value of its yuan currency was not up for debate at an upcoming Group of 20 summit and again rejected outside interference in its foreign exchange policies.
“The [yuan] is China’s currency. This is not an issue the international community should discuss,” Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cui Tiankai (崔天凱) told reporters.
International pressure is mounting on China to revalue the yuan, which Washington says is being kept weak deliberately by Beijing to give exporters an unfair trade advantage that is leading to job losses in the US.
Sander Levin, the powerful chairman of a US congressional committee overseeing taxes and trade, said on Wednesday the June 26-June 27 G20 summit in Toronto was “an important juncture for China to change its inflexible currency practices.”
However, Zhang Tao (張濤), a top official at the People’s Bank of China, said the yuan was never on the agenda of previous G20 summits and reiterated that Beijing would adjust its currency policies at its own pace.
Zhang and Cui were speaking at a briefing on Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) participation in the summit.
Beijing maintains that letting its currency strengthen will not solve the problem of US job losses and has consistently rejected pressure on the issue.
Levin warned that China had until just after the summit to change its currency practices or face action by US Congress.
“Seven years of patience from the United States and the international community have run out,” he said.
US Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner also said last week that China’s refusal to revalue its currency impeded global economic reforms.
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