China's Currency: Economic Issues and Options for U.S. Trade Policy. Updated January 9, 2008

摘要

The continued rise in China's trade surplus with the United States and the world, and complaints from U.S. manufacturing firms and workers over the competitive challenges posed by Chinese imports have led several Members to call for a more aggressive U.S. stance against certain Chinese trade policies they deem to be unfair. Among these is the value of the Chinese yuan relative to the dollar. From 1994 to July 2005, China pegged its currency to the U.S. dollar. On July 21, 2005, China announced it would let its currency immediately appreciate by 2.1% and link its currency to a basket of currencies (rather than just to the dollar). Many Members complain that the yuan has appreciated only modestly (about 12%) since these reforms were implemented and that China continues to 'manipulate' its currency in order to give its exporters an unfair trade advantage, and that this policy has led to U.S. job losses. Numerous bills have been introduced to move China to adopt a more flexible currency policy.