No timetable for floating currency system (Xinhua) Updated: 2005-05-07 09:54
Chinese Vice Finance Minister Li Yong ruled out Friday that China will adopt
a floating currency system in the near future.
Speaking at the 38th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Li
said there is no timetable now for China to adopt a floating currency system
since the upward pressure is not strong.
"I feel the pressure is not from the outside rather from domestic needs," he
said, "Establishing market mechanisms and financial sector reforms are
prerequisites for floating RMB."
China will take into account the impact of any RMB reform on regional and
global economies, he said.
"I urge them not to do such speculation (on a possible revaluation of the
RMB). They need patience," Li said, adding China shares other countries' concern
about imbalances which threaten the world economy.
He said China will spend part of its foreign exchange reserves to support its
financial reforms. "China will spend the necessary resources to support
reforms," Li said, citing China's past decision to inject capital into state-run
banks as examples.
"One big concern to me is that too much hot money is flowing into China," Li
said. However, a soft landing is "certainly achievable", added he.
"China will strengthen and improve macro-economic management and will
continue its macro-economic adjustment, which is so important for a steady
growth," he said.
About 3,000 delegates from ADB members, private financial groups and
non-governmental organizations will wrap up the three-day meeting Friday.
ADB's performance in 2004 and coordination efforts of member states in aid
projects were major issues discussed at the meeting.
The 63-member ADB is a pan-Asia multilateral financial institution that lends
aid funds to developing countries in Asia with a platform to reduce poverty in
the world's largest and most populous continent.
