Canada: G-7 likely won´t press China on yuan
Wednesday, September 29, 2004 4:06:10 PM
afxpress.com
Canada: G-7 likely won't press China on yuan WASHINGTON (AFX) - Finance ministers from the world's seven richest nations aren't likely to pressure China on foreign-exchange policy when they meet with Chinese finance officials for the first time as a group in Washington at the end of the week, a Canadian Finance official said Wednesday
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ministers are more interested in taking an assessment of the Chinese economy and learning what plans are in place for revamping the nation's banking system
A day earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said precisely the opposite
"We're going ... to press them on the currency," Snow said in a television interview with CNBC
China has fixed its currency at roughly 8.3 yuan to the dollar since 1994
U.S. manufacturers complain the fixed exchange rate provides an unfair cost advantage to China's exporters, therefore costing thousands of U.S. jobs
The U.S. manufacturing sector has shed millions of jobs over the past three years, and the issue has become politically sensitive during this presidential election year
Asked if the Bush administration is raising the rhetoric on China for political reasons while remaining cool to the issue in private meetings, the Canadian official declined to give his opinion of U.S. politics
He stressed that the topic hasn't been heavily discussed in preparatory meetings leading up to the G-7 finance ministers meeting, scheduled for Friday at the Treasury Department in Washington
The official, who spoke with reporters at the Finance Ministry in Ottawa, and on the telephone from other locations, emphasized that he doesn't expect ministers to press the issue in their first formal meeting with Chinese officials
He said G-7 leaders expect China's economy to come to a soft-landing
Asked about the recent rise in oil prices, the official said he doesn't expect prices to remain in the range of $50 a barrel for a sustained period |
