US delays yuan report
Oct 17, 2010


The report, which could have labelled China a currency manipulator and opened the path for US sanctions on Chinese goods, was due to be released by Friday.
PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON - THE United States on Friday delayed publishing a controversial report on China's currency until after a key G-20 meeting in mid-November, averting a showdown between the two superpowers.

The report, which could have labelled China a currency manipulator and opened the path for US sanctions on Chinese goods, was due to be released by Friday.

The delay avoids the prospect of a bitter trade dispute between two powers, who have faced-off over accusations that Beijing keeps the yuan undervalued to gain an unfair trade advantage.

Currency tensions boiled over at last week's annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with China rejecting calls for a quick yuan revaluation.

But ahead of the Group of 20 meetings, the Treasury Department sounded a conciliatory tone, recognising 'China's actions since early September to accelerate the pace of currency appreciation, while noting it is important to sustain this course'.

A higher valued yuan would make Chinese exports more expensive and exports from other nations more competitively priced. -- AFP

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