Saturday September 16, 9:11 PM
G7 tells China to unleash yuan
By Mia Shanley and Brian Love
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Group of Seven rich nations urged China on Saturday to let its currency rise faster to help ease perilous imbalances in trade and backed a rise in the yen to reflect Japan's strengthening economic recovery.
In a statement issued after an afternoon of talks, G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs complained that large emerging economies were not pulling their weight in the collective management of the global economy.
But Beijing, blamed by critics for holding the yuan down to boost its exports, was the only country singled out by name.
"Greater exchange rate flexibility is desirable in emerging economies with large current account surpluses, especially China, for necessary adjustments to occur," the G7 said.
The communique did not mention the yen. But, in apparently coordinated comments after the meeting, G7 officials opened the door for a rise in the currency, which has fallen to a 21-year low when adjusted for inflation.
The yen is languishing even though the Bank of Japan, on July 14, showed confidence in the economy by raising interest rates from zero for the first time since 2001.
"We noted that the exit from the zero interest rate policy and that its recovery is now broadly based -- we agree that the yen will reflect these developments," Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, told reporters.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck used similar language, suggesting a coordinated message: "The (Japanese) exchange rate should reflect these two developments."
Europe is wary of the yen's softness for fear the euro will have to bear more of the burden of global currency adjustment.
But Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, too, chimed in by saying that the yen's recent drop to record lows against the euro had been a bit "wild."
"It is too simple to say the yen will rise as the economy improves. But from the broad perspective that currencies should reflect economic fundamentals, that's probably the case," Tanigaki said.
FOCUS ON CHINA
The G7 had already pointed the finger of blame at China at its previous meeting in April, and officials said the renewed reference on Saturday reflected frustration at the glacial pace of the yuan's climb.
China is pivotal because, without a sharp rise in the yuan, its Asian neighbors will be reluctant to let their own currencies appreciate for fear of losing competitiveness.
China revalued the yuan, or renminbi, by 2.1 percent in July 2005 and cut it free from a decade-old dollar peg. Since then the currency has risen only another 2 percent.
Still, officials said the G7 was wary of applying too much pressure on Beijing, fearing public criticism would backfire.
The G7 dropped an annex that was appended to April's communique calling explicitly for an appreciation of the yuan.
"Rather than talking about the renminbi itself, we looked at the emerging economies' currencies and discussed that further flexibility would be needed," Tanigaki told reporters.
Chinese officials, who got a chance to make their case at a working G7 lunch, had no immediate comment on the communique, but earlier restated their aim to let the yuan trade more freely.
"Our policy is clear. We are gradually moving toward more flexibility," central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said.
G7 finance ministers acknowledged that their cajoling might not pay off. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, making his G7 debut, said he did not have high expectations that his visit to China next week would spur Beijing to move faster on the yuan.
Steinbrueck, asked if China had given signals of additional currency flexibility on Saturday, said simply, "No."
PLEASE HELP OUT
The world is enjoying its strongest burst of economic growth in 30 years, but the G7 warned of the risk of rising inflationary expectations, tight energy markets and spreading protectionism.
Apart from a call to revive the World Trade Organization's deadlocked Doha Round of market-opening talks, the G7 statement was silent on concrete policy initiatives to counter these risks.
Instead the group limited itself to a general statement of intent, coupled with a nudge to Asian countries and oil-producing states to do more to reduce their big trade surpluses.
The deliberations of the G7 -- the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada -- coincide with the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which are being held this year in Singapore.
