WASHINGTON (MNI) – China needs to do more to allow its currency to
be more flexible, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Friday,
adding that it is neither in China’s interest to have a currency or
trade war nor the interest of western nations to have “impediments” to
trade.
Volatility in his country’s own currency is “always a concern,” the
minister told Canadian TV station Global TV and journalists gathered
outside the headquarters of the International Monetary at the start of
the annual meetings.
“We’re all committed to free trade according to the Toronto
summit,” Flaherty said.
But, “One of the barriers to trade is artificially protecting
a … currency, which is the situation with some of the Asian currencies
now, including China,” he said.
“And China had committed before the G20 summit in Toronto” to allow
more flexibility, and while “they’ve allowed a very small degree of
flexibility since Toronto, but they need to do more,” he said.
“The reality is that China and other Asian economies need western
markets to sell their goods and it is not in their interest to have a
trade, or currency war,” he said.
All participants at the IMF and World Bank meetings taking place
this weekend are “worried about economic growth.” At present, “we see
significant growth” in emerging markets, but growth in developed markets
is “quite modest,” he said.
** Market News International – tbuell@marketnews.com **
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