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To: DiViT who wrote (26758)	12/16/1997 10:38:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Promises, Promises..................................................... insidechina.com China Promises not to Devalue its Currency <Picture: jiang36.gif>KUALA LUMPUR -- President Jiang Zemin (pictured) said on Tuesday the Chinese government would help stabilize Asian financial markets by refusing to devalue its currency but stopped short of offering emergency aid to the region's economies. Jiang discussed "financial turmoil" in Asia at a meeting with leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chinese government spokesman Shen Guofang said. "President Jiang Zemin said China was very much concerned about the financial turmoil in Southeast Asia," Shen told a news conference after the hour-long meeting. "President Jiang Zemin said that the Chinese government has already made clear that it will not depreciate its currency the yuan," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "It will adopt other measures to improve the competitiveness for exports of China and also to attract foreign investment to China. This will be a positive effort for the stability of the financial market in East Asia." China's neighbors fear Beijing might be forced to devalue the yuan to regain any price competitiveness that it might have lost due to the sharp depreciation of Southeast Asian currencies. ASEAN officials have said that could trigger a series of competitive devaluations which would send more shock waves through the region. ASEAN is comprised of Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Both Thailand and Indonesia have received emergency rescue packages worth a total of nearly $60 billion. Shen was asked whether Jiang unveiled any plans to offer aid to ailing Southeast Asian nations during the meeting. "The leaders did not go into details or discuss detailed projects. Just now I said the Chinese government will not depreciate...the yuan, which constitutes a positive effort for the stability of the markets in East Asia," he said. Asked if Beijing supported a regional bailout fund, Shen said China had participated in the bailout plans of the International Monetary Fund. "Of course there are bilateral consultations," he said. "But at this morning's meeting, we did not go into the details." The spokesman said ASEAN members favored early entry of China into the World Trade Organization. "That is because China is a major international trading country in the world, so China should become a member of the WTO at an early date," he said. "China has always adopted a positive attitude and we have adopted many measures. However, as a developing country, China will not seek entry into WTO at expense of our principles. This is because China is a developing country," Shen said. "To exclude China outside the WTO...will be a great loss to the WTO itself." (Reuters)