進入英語學習論壇下載音頻 去聽寫專區一展身手

The exchange rate did not cause structural problems in the US economy, such as the trade deficit and unemployment, President Hu Jintao said during a meeting on Saturday with US President Barack Obama.

China follows a responsible exchange rate policy, Hu told Obama as the two leaders met during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii.

Hu said that China will steadily advance the reform of the exchange rate mechanism with the goal of ensuring a market-based and managed floating exchange rate system that is tied to a basket of currencies.

Stressing that the exchange rate is not to blame for US structural problems, Hu warned that even an abrupt yuan appreciation could not solve the problems the US is facing.

Instead, Hu said, the US should loosen export controls on high-tech products to China and make it more convenient for Chinese firms to invest in the US.

Hu's remarks came against a backdrop of some US politicians blaming the exchange rate for the trade deficit with China. They claim that the exchange rate has been kept low in order to maintain trade advantages.

Officials in Beijing have consistently said that considering the huge amount of trade involved, friction is inevitable and problems need to be addressed through dialogue rather than being politicized.

The yuan reached 6.3165 to the US dollar on Nov 4, the highest level since the 2005 yuan revaluation.

Since then the yuan has appreciated by more than 30 percent as China ceased pegging its currency to the dollar.

However, trade between China and the US has remained steady, which shows that the trade surplus with the US was mainly a result of robust overseas demand rather than the currency issue, said Zhang Jianping, senior researcher at the Institute for International Economic Research .

Zhang explained that reform of China's currency regime is conducted in a gradual and controllable way to allow export-reliant enterprises to predict future patterns. Otherwise, a large number of companies will shut down and cause huge damage to the economy.

He also said that maintaining China's economic growth is also a massive contribution to the beleaguered global economy.

Commerce Minister Chen Deming also said that the exchange rate is at a reasonable level and adjusting it will not solve the US trade deficit with China.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.