Beijing, June 25: Beijing has cautioned against “protectionist” retaliation over its currency policy as Washington lawmakers contemplate ways to punish Beijing for its weak Yuan policy.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang rejected the calls for China to let the Yuan appreciate, saying it would not solve the controversial Chinese trade surplus with the United States, AFP reported.
“We believe the appreciation of the Yuan cannot bring balanced trade and cannot help the US solve its problems of unemployment, overconsumption and low savings,” he told journalists.
“We hope the US can reflect on the problems of its own economic structure, instead of laying blame games and imposing pressure on others.”
Qin’s statement came after US legislators Wednesday pushed legislation they said would treat currency manipulation as an illegal subsidy and enable US officials to impose tariffs on Chinese goods.
In the meantime, Qin emphasized the significance Beijing attaches on trade relations with Washington and warned against any punitive measures.
“We hope the US can work with us and take a practical and constructive attitude and practical and constructive measures to promote our economic relations in a balanced way,” he said. “Resorting to trade protectionism would be unreasonable and bring benefit to no one.”
On Saturday, China’s central bank vowed to make the Yuan exchange rate more flexible in an announcement widely seen as a bid to head off rancor at this weekend’s G20 summit and amid the mounting accusations of US politicians.
Since then, the central bank has allowed limited movement in the currency, but has ruled out any major revaluation.
According to the latest US trade data issued earlier this month, the US trade deficit with China climbed 14.3 percent to $19.3 billion in April.
Last year, the deficit rose to 227 billion dollars, helping to further China’s foreign reserves, currently standing at a massive 2.4 trillion dollars.
——–Agencies