EU warns China on hasty currency boost
The European Union will this week urge China to take its time moving towards a more flexible exchange rate system, rebuffing US calls for Beijing to act quickly to boost its currency.
European policymakers fear a sharp realignment of the renminbi could cause exchange rate volatility, leading to the dollar weakening further against the euro and other EU currencies.
However, lawmakers in the US want China to act quickly to make its exchange rate system more flexible, helping to increase US exports and cut the trade gap with China which topped $200bn in 2005.
Transatlantic differences over the issue are expected to surface at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Vienna on Friday, at which global economic imbalances will be discussed.
The European Commission, the EU executive, has produced a paper assessing the effects of renminbi revaluation, which says: “China should introduce greater exchange rate flexibility in a gradual manner.”
The paper warns that an abrupt de-pegging of the renminbi from the dollar could cause a sudden reversal of capital flows into the US, which might trigger additional downward movement of the dollar against the euro. Such a move would put up the price of European exports to the US, putting at risk one of the drivers of the EU’s economic recovery.
The issue will also be discussed by Asian finance ministers with their EU counterparts in Vienna on Saturday.
A spokeswoman for Joaquín Almunia, EU monetary affairs commissioner, played down suggestions of a transatlantic rift, saying the paper was in line with previous statements in which Europe had warned that “volatile exchange rates are not desirable for economic growth”.
Europe, like the US, wants China to put in place measures to increase domestic consumption in an effort to reduce global imbalances.
The administration of President George W. Bush is under mounting pressure to take tougher action against China over the value of its currency with the introduction today of legislation that would all but force the US Treasury to brand China as a currency manipulator.
The proposal, drafted by Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate finance committee, and Max Baucus, the committee’s leading Democrat, would threaten new sanctions against countries found to have “currency misalignments” with the US.
If a country was found to have such a misalignment, it would have six months to move towards resolving it.
The US Treasury has angered many lawmakers by refraining from branding China a currency manipulator, and over the Bush administration’s diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to revalue its currency.
欧盟将鼓励中国“渐进”调整汇率机制
欧盟(EU)将于本周鼓励中国循序渐进地朝着更具弹性的汇率机制迈进，从而抵制美国方面要求中国政府迅速提高人民币汇率的做法。
欧盟的决策者们担心，人民币的急剧调整可能导致汇率波动，进而导致美元兑欧元和其它欧盟货币进一步贬值。
然而，美国国会议员们希望中国迅速采取措施，使其汇率体制变得更为灵活，以帮助美国增加出口，缩小与中国的贸易逆差。2005年，美中贸易逆差超过2000亿美元。
欧美在这一问题上的分歧，预计将在本周五的欧盟财长维也纳会议上公开化。此次会议将讨论全球经济失衡问题。
欧盟执行机构欧盟委员会(European Commission)已对人民币升值的影响作出书面评估，称：“中国应逐步地引入更为灵活的汇率机制。”
这份报告警告称，如果人民币突然不再钉住美元，可能导致流向美国的资本流突然转向，从而引发美元兑欧元汇率进一步走低。此举还将推高欧洲对美国出口品的价格，危及欧盟经济复苏的一大推动力。
此外，亚洲各国财长周六在维也纳与欧盟各国财长会晤时，也将讨论这一问题。
与美国一样，欧盟也希望中国采取适当措施来提振国内消费，以减少全球失衡。
美国布什(George W. Bush)政府正面临越来越大的压力，被要求在人民币汇率问题上对中国采取更为强硬的行动。美国国会今日提出的一项法案一旦通过，几乎将迫使美国财政部将中国列为汇率操纵国。
美国参议院财政委员会(Senate Finance Committee)主席、参议员查尔斯?格拉斯利(Charles Grassley)与该委员会资深民主党人马克斯?鲍卡斯(Max Baucus)提交了此项草案，该草案威胁要对那些被发现存在“汇率失当(currency misalignments)”的国家采取新的制裁措施。
