China right to show caution with exchange rate: IMF chief
( 2003-09-03 09:31) (Xinhua)
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) managing director Horst Kohler said here Tuesday that he agreed with
China's caution on the issue of adjusting the international exchange rate of
China's currency, the Renminbi (RMB).
The IMF chief also urged the international community to remember the
contribution that China's exchange rate policy made to the regional and world
economy during the Asian financial crisis.
Kohler told Xinhua that he believed China would continue to contribute to
regional and international economic development as it did in the 1997 crisis,
when many neighboring countries devalued currencies, but China strived to
maintain a strong RMB and contributed to the economic stability in Asia and the
world.
"I think it is right that China's leadership weight carefully the benefits
and costs of greater flexibility in the exchange rate", said Kohler, who was on
his fourth visit to China.
The IMF agreed with China's view that establishing a free-floated exchange
rate was a long-term goal, said Kohler, adding that China should move gradually
and moderately increase the flexibility of the exchange
rate.
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