Washington (AsiaNews) - Beijing has reaffirmed its commitment to a more flexible market-based currency system, but stopped short of offering a timetable for the transition.
A statement issued by the US-China Joint Economic Committee dashed international hopes that China, which has fixed its exchange rate at about 8.3 yuan to the US dollar, would soon revalue its currency amid pressure from Japan, the United States and other western countries.
The statement was released after top mainland officials - including Finance Minister Jin Renqing and People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan - met US Treasury Secretary John Snow and US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday to discuss bilateral economic and financial issues, with the focus on the mainland's currency system.
But there appeared to be little new in the statement, with Beijing merely restating its long-held position and offering no specifics or timing for reforms.
Many private economists believe it could be years before China is willing to give up the trade benefits it enjoys from a tightly controlled exchange rate that makes its products as much as 40 percent cheaper than American-made goods. The U.S. trade deficit with China soared to a record 4 billion last year.
China's currency system has become an issue in the American presidential campaign. China currency system and other unfair trade practices have contributed to the loss of nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs over the past four years.
The debate over China's currency system was among several global economic issues that were hashed out Friday by the G-7 countries (United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada).
Top mainland officials met Group of Seven finance ministers last night. This is the first time China has attended a G-7 meeting, signalling the start of a process that will eventually see it admitted to the group, or at least the expanded Group of Eight, which also includes Russia.