. | . |
China's trade surplus grows in October Beijing (AFP) Nov 10, 2010 China's trade surplus grew in October as both exports and imports rose sharply on-year, the government said Wednesday, adding to pressure on Beijing to let its currency appreciate ahead of the G20 summit. China's trade surplus expanded to 27.15 billion dollars in October, customs authorities said, before a Group of 20 summit that is expected to focus on rebalancing the global economy. China's exports increased 22.9 percent in October from a year earlier, totalling 135.98 billion dollars, while imports rose 25.3 percent to 108.83 billion dollars, according to the data. The Chinese figures -- combined with US data that was expected to show a trade deficit of about 45 billion dollars later on Wednesday -- were likely to fuel debate over trade imbalances, Brian Jackson, a senior strategist at Royal Bank of Canada, told AFP. "The main point that's going to attract tension is the disparity in trade balances," Jackson said. "That's going to be a real stark contrast and that's just going to add to pressure on China to do more on the currency," he added. Critics claim the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 percent, giving Chinese exporters an unfair trade advantage by making their shipments artificially cheap. China set the yuan's central parity rate -- the middle of the currency's allowed trading band -- at 6.6450 to the dollar on Wednesday, the strongest rate since currency reform in 2005. The figures were released as deputy ministers preparing for the G20 summit were having heated debates in Seoul over currencies, economic imbalances and the US Federal Reserve's stimulus plan, officials said. "We had to physically open the door to the meeting, the debate was so hot. We were lacking oxygen," Kim Yoon-Kyung, spokesman for the summit preparation committee, was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires. The officials discussed some specific potential targets for current-account imbalances and the issue of avoiding "competitive devaluation" of currencies, Kim said, but declined to comment further. China's top central banker Zhou Xiaochuan has said he rejects any form of "shock therapy" to reevaluate the yuan, saying the currency would move gradually towards an "equilibrium" level.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Global Trade News
Obama launches U.S.-Indonesia partnership Washington (UPI) Nov 9, 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama's tour of Asia included a short stop in Indonesia Tuesday to launch a new security and economic partnership between the United States and Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world and a major power in Southeast Asia. Obama, who lived in Indonesia for four years as a child, started his visit by meeting with President Susilo BambangYudhoyono a ... read more |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |