Global Financial Strategy - Feldstein: China's new currency policy

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Feldstein: China’s new currency policy

Tuesday 23 August 2011 – by Martin Feldstein / Project Syndicate

China may allow the renminbi to rise substantially against the dollar if it wants to raise its overall global value, decrease China’s portfolio risk and rein in inflationary pressure, writes Martin Feldstein, former chairman of US President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers.

China’s government may be about to let the renminbi-dollar exchange rate rise more rapidly in the coming months than it did during the past year.

The exchange rate was actually frozen during the financial crisis, but has been allowed to increase since the summer of 2010. In the past 12 months, the renminbi strengthened by 6 per cent against the dollar, its reference currency.

A more rapid increase of the renminbi-dollar exchange rate would shrink China’s exports and increase its imports. It would also allow other Asian countries to let their currencies rise or expand their exports at the expense of Chinese producers.

That might please China’s neighbours, but it would not appeal to Chinese producers. Why, then, might the Chinese authorities deliberately allow the renminbi to rise more rapidly?

There are two fundamental reasons why the Chinese government might choose such a policy: reducing its portfolio risk and containing domestic inflation.

Related articles:

China defies inflation curbs with 9.5% growth

China expands cross-border RMB plan

To read this article in full, please visit our partner site, Project Syndicate, by clicking here.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2011. www.project-syndicate.org

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