Chinese Government Pledges To Be “More Flexible” On Its Currency As Export To United States Rise To Highest Level Since 2010
According to Bloomberg, “China’s imports extended the longest losing streak in six years, underscoring the headwinds to global growth from a re-balancing in the world’s second-largest economy.” Imports fell 17.7 percent in China from September 2014 to September 2015, the 11th straight monthly year-over-year decline. Exports dropped by 1.1 percent between last September and this September as the country maintained a $59.4 billion surplus. Bloomberg also said, “The import slide reflects this year’s plunge in commodity prices and tepid domestic demand as China shifts away from low-end manufacturing and debt-fueled investment.”
Imports from the United States increased 6.7 percent while exports to the United States increased to their highest level since 2010.
Meanwhile, according to The Wall Street Journal, officials in the Chinese government said they would offer more flexibility in its currency. Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China Yi Gang said, “The still-large trade surplus serves as an important support of the RMB exchange rate” and “going forward, the market-based RMB exchange-rate reform will continue to proceed, and the RMB exchange rate will become more flexible, floating around the equilibrium level in both directions.”