Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (12563)	12/16/2006 4:35:58 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 218246

US urged China to speed up economic reform as a way to reduce its trade surplus and boost domestic consumption, highlighting currency exchange as a "core issue". US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he told top Chinese officials "in the clearest possible terms" that they should allow more flexibility in their currency exchange rate mechanism. "China's currency policy is a core issue," Paulson told reporters at the end of a two-day China-US "strategic economic dialogue." Chinese leaders assured Paulson and other top officials that they remain committed to economic reform, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said. "The question relates to the pace of reform," Schwab said. Paulson said he saw "some resistance to moving ahead as fast as I'd like to see." No major agreements were announced after the talks but Paulson said he was "very pleased with what we've accomplished." He said an agreement to open offices of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in China was of "symbolic importance." "If you want immediate results (from the dialogue), it's not realistic," he said. Earlier on Friday, Paulson said the two sides had agreed on "many principles." "We each will take measures to address global imbalances through greater national savings in the United States and to increase consumption and exchange rate flexibility in China," Paulson told reporters at a joint press conference with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi. Despite the shared emphasis on consensus, Wu admitted that the two sides "remained different on some issues." In a joint statement, China committed itself to continuing reform of its currency exchange rate mechanism. US critics say China's renminbi currency remains heavily undervalued, creating cheaper Chinese exports. Wu defended China's economic policies, saying she wanted to educate people in the United States who had "limited knowledge" of China and "harbour much misunderstanding about the reality" of its economy. China has previously insisted that its currency reform will be gradual and not influenced by other nations. The renminbi has appreciated by about 5 per cent against the dollar since China loosened its peg to the US currency and allowed limited flexibility in its exchange rate last July. The US delegation included the country's top commerce, labour, health, energy and environmental officials. In an annual report released Monday, the United States said it was ready to take formal action against China in the World Trade Organization (WTO) if Washington fails to gain concessions through bilateral talks. The two sides said Friday that they had agreed to hold a second economic dialogue in Washington in May.