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This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English EconomicsReport.
The Bush administration and some American lawmakers have calledfor a change in China's financial policy. At issue is the value ofChinese money, called the yuan or renminbi. American officials saythe renminbi is undervalued. They say its low value permits China tounfairly compete with American businesses.
When we think of the value of money, we think of the number seenon money itself. That tells us how much of something we can buy.But, money also is something that can be traded on financialmarkets, or currency exchanges.
Nations buy the money of other nations. Nations must keepsupplies of foreign money to pay for goods they import. They alsoreceive foreign money for the goods they export. This foreign moneymay be held in banks for future use.
For years, China has controlled the value of the renminbi bylinking it to the value of the American dollar. Chinese officialshave set that rate at about eight renminbi to the dollar.
The Bush administration would like to see China's money traded oncurrency exchanges. Treasury Secretary John Snow and other officialsbelieve the renminbi would have a higher value if it were tradedlike the money of other countries. American companies say therenminbi could increase in value by forty percent if it were to befreely traded.
Some administration officials and experts believe that a strongerrenminbi could reduce America's trade deficit. Last year, the tradedeficit with China was over one-hundred-thousand-million dollars.That was its highest level ever. This year, the deficit is expectedto be higher.
China does not believe that permitting the renminbi to tradefreely is a good idea. Last month, the governor of the Bank for thePeople's Republic of China said his country would not change itsmoney policy. Jen Renqing said the Chinese economy was stilldeveloping. He also said China would need time to open its money tomarket forces.
Others agree that China should not change its policy at thistime. Standard and Poor's is a company that measures financial risk.Last month, Standard and Poor's said that a change in China's moneypolicy would be a mistake. It said changes in the value of therenminbi would put too much financial pressure on Chinese banks.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Bob Doughty.