US, China near deal, Beijing vows not to devalue yuan

Beijing: China’s top central banker on Sunday signalled that Beijing and Washington were getting close to reaching a currency deal as part of their continuing negotiations to settle a yearlong trade battle.

“Both sides have reached consensus on many crucial and important issues,” People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Yi Gang told the media here on the sidelines of the nation’s annual legislative session.

As part of the accord, Yi said, China won’t engage in competitive devaluation to give Chinese exporters a leg up in foreign markets — a commitment Chinese officials have also made in multilateral agreements such as those among the Group of 20 (G20) industrial nations.

How China manages its currency has been a point of contention between Washington and Beijing for years.

US President Donald Trump was vocal throughout his election campaign in saying China manipulates the yuan to gain an advantage in trade by making its products relatively cheaper. Trump repeated the charge last year, when the yuan’s plunge aroused suspicion that Beijing was pushing down its value to offset US tariffs on Chinese products. (IANS)

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