June 5, 2010Geithner: China Should Resume Yuan Rise As Part Of Global Rebalancing
BUSAN, South Korea
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Saturday that China should resume letting the yuan rise as a critical part of its overall economic reforms.
Group of 20 finance ministers and central banks discussed the need for "a more flexible exchange-rate policy in China" during two days of talks in Busan, South Korea, Geithner said in a statement after the two-day meeting.
Asked at a news conference about the reference to the yuan--a subject on which the U.S. has recently been reticent--Geithner said it was "a necessary part" of broader reforms that Beijing is pursuing in order to make its economy less reliant on exports and more driven by domestic demand.
Geithner portrayed this as part of a global economic rebalancing, in which the U.S. saves and invests more and other countries make offsetting, complementary moves.
Among those, he said, European current-account surplus countries--an oblique reference to Germany in particular--and Japan must boost their "relatively weak" domestic demand.
Dow Jones Newswires
