China Pledges to Boost Imports
Faced with pressure to revalue the yuan upwards, China
has pledged to boost imports to US$1 trillion over the
next three years.
The pledge was made by China's commerce minister Lu Fuyuan
at a meeting of Asian and EU economic ministers in Dalian.
The pledge is seen as part of a move to lessen pressure
on China to allow to let the yuan rise against the dollar.
Lu said that China, already the world's biggest market
for more than 100 types of products, will further cut
tariffs and ease restrictions to become the world's second
biggest consumer market after the US in 2020. Aviation
industry officials have said that China may need to import
up to 1,900 planes from Airbus and Boeing worth an estimated
$144 billion by 2020.
Lu said that the present valuation of the yuan had helped
to make Chinese exports more competitive and have contributed
to economic growth, which in turn bring in imports. "This
market expansion helps our neighboring countries and our
trading partners," he said.
It is reported that the Peoples' Bank of China, China
central bank, is studying ways of widening the trading
band in which the currency can fluctuate.
At the meeting, criticism of China's low yuan policy
was muted, largely because it is considered bad form to
criticize the host country, but also because China is
the only major economy experiencing vigorous growth.
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