China said on Friday it had no intention of using currency devaluation to its advantage in trade, responding to US President Donald Trump’s description of the Asian giant as the “grand champions” of currency manipulation.
Trump said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday he had not “held back” in his assessment that China manipulates its yuan currency, just hours after his new treasury secretary pledged a more methodical approach to analyzing Beijing’s foreign exchange practices.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he hoped the US could “fully and correctly” view the exchange rate issue.
“China has no intention of seeking foreign trade advantages via an intentional devaluation of the renminbi. There is no basis for the continued devaluation of the renminbi,” he told a daily media briefing in Beijing.
“If you must attach the label ‘grand champion’ to China, then I think China is a grand champion. But we are the grand champions of economic development,” Geng added.
The Foreign Ministry has no say in currency policy, but it is the only Chinese government department that holds a daily briefing that foreign reporters attend.
The central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) did not respond to a request for comment.
The yuan fell 6.6 percent against the dollar in 2016, its biggest annual drop since 1994, as it was pressured by worries about slowing Chinese growth and more recently by a resurgent dollar, which has spurred capital outflows from many emerging markets.
Chinese authorities have taken numerous steps in recent months to curb capital flight to support the weakening yuan currency, while trying to bring in more foreign investment.
New commerce minister
China’s government has named a trade specialist as its new commerce minister and appointed a new head of its top economic planning body as part of a Cabinet reshuffle that comes amid a slowing economy and the threat of increased trade friction with President Donald Trump’s administration.
Top trade representative Zhong Shan will become minister of commerce, while He Lifeng will take over the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. The appointments are expected to be ratified next month during the national legislature’s annual two-week session.
The two new appointees — both of whom have worked in the past with President Xi Jinping — will step into crucial roles guiding the world’s second-largest economy at a time of serious challenges.

Source: Arab News