Viewpoint

01.26.23

What Impact Would a U.S. Debt Default Have on China?

Arthur R. Kroeber
The big political drama in Washington in the next few months will be the fight over the federal debt ceiling. The worst-case scenario is that Congress refuses to raise the ceiling and the U.S. Treasury defaults on its debt. Since U.S. treasury debt...

China's Yuan, Shares Fall as Trade Row Overshadows Policy Shift

Moxy Ying, Tian Chen and Jeanny Yu
Bloomberg
The onshore yuan slipped 0.17 percent to 6.8402 per dollar as of 4:02 p.m., while the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 1.3 percent at its lowest since February 2016. The ChiNext gauge of small caps and tech stocks fared even worse, tumbling 2.8...

Renminbi Slides after China Relaxes Currency Controls

Gabriel Wildau, Tom Mitchell, Jennifer...
Financial Times
The renminbi suffered its worst day in three months after China’s central bank scrapped two rules intended to bolster the currency in a sign that official nervousness about currency depreciation and capital flight has eased.

Caixin Media

06.05.17

China to Boost Checks on Overseas Spending

China is stepping up supervision of the use of bank cards overseas, a move the foreign-exchange regulator says is needed to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion.Starting September 1, banks will be required to report on a...

Trump Isn’t Wrong on China Currency Manipulation, Just Late

Eduardo Porter
New York Times
While China’s surplus with the United States is pretty big, its global surplus is modest, at 2.4 percent of its gross domestic product last year. Most significant, it has been pushing its currency up, not down.

For China’s Factories, a Weaker Currency Is a Double-Edged Sword

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
For the past three years, China has allowed its currency, the renminbi, to weaken in value compared with the American dollar. Yet the renminbi’s slide has provided only a marginal benefit.

Picking a Fight over China’s Currency Will Snowball: Analyst

Leslie Shaffer
CNBC
If U.S. President Donald Trump proceeds with plans to label China a currency manipulator, the confrontation would likely escalate beyond trade, David Roche, global strategist at Independent Strategy, told CNBC on Monday.

Trump Accuses Chinese of Being ‘Grand Champions’ of Currency Manipulation

Newsweek
President Donald Trump declared China the “grand champions” of currency manipulation on Thursday, just hours after his new Treasury secretary pledged a more methodical approach to analyzing Beijing’s foreign exchange practices.

Mnuchin Says He Won’t Label China a Currency Manipulator...Yet

Kevin Cirilli and Saleha Mohsin
Bloomberg
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin signaled no urgency to designate China a currency manipulator, saying he wants to use a regular review of foreign-exchange markets to determine if the U.S.’s largest trading partner is cheating.

How China Lost $1 Trillion

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
It’s a lot of money—but it’s shrinking.

China’s Forex Reserves May Beat Expectations: Analyst

Leslie Shaffer
CNBC
China’s foreign-exchange reserves data for January, due on Tuesday, may surprise on the upside after a long downtrend, an analyst said.

China Probes Bitcoin Exchanges amid Capital Flight Fears

Gabriel Wildau
Financial Times
Investors in the cryptocurrency say they doubt it is being used to transfer large amounts of cash out of China.

China, Seeking to Stop Weakening of Currency, Issues Restrictions

Neil Gough
New York Times
China’s financial regulators appear to have grown increasingly concerned in recent weeks about the pace of the renminbi’s depreciation

China’s Currency Didn’t Really Drop, Despite Jitters Over Trump

Neil Gough
New York Times
Early Tuesday it appeared the RMB had suddenly fallen more than 8%, but no deliberate devaluation took place. Instead, the culprit was a technical problem

Caixin Media

10.24.16

The Yuan’s Internationalization is Just Beginning

The official acceptance of the yuan (or renminbi) into the International Monetary Fund’s elite currency club on October 1 marked a milestone in the Chinese government’s campaign to boost the yuan’s international appeal.Inclusion of the yuan in the...

Yuan Buckles After Latest Drop in China’s Foreign-Exchange Reserves

Gregor Stuart Hunter
Wall Street Journal
Chinese currency hits weakest level against dollar since January after reserves fall by more than forecast in September

China Marks Milestone With Yuan’s Entry Into IMF Reserve Basket

Ian Talley and Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Move confers a measure of legitimacy after Beijiing’s yearslong effort to internationalize its currency; remains far from countering dollar’s status

Chinese Central Bank Designates Renminbi Clearing Bank in New York

Gabriel Wildau
Financial Times
First offshore renminbi settlement bank in US fills major gap

Surge in Offshore Yuan Borrowing Rate Suggests China Intervention

Saumya Vaishampayan and Lingling Wei
Wall Street Journal
Move by banks in Hong Kong market, likely at behest of PBOC, seems aimed at bets against yuan.

Conversation

07.08.16

Why Is There So Much Talk of China’s Bleeding Money?

Arthur R. Kroeber & Thilo Hanemann
China has seen its foreign reserves depleted for months, but economists don’t agree about why: Is it because Chinese people are buying offshore assets, such as real estate? Because Chinese companies are paying down their foreign debt? Or both? Or is...

Conversation

01.27.16

Is George Soros Right that China’s Headed for a Hard Landing?

Arthur R. Kroeber, Stephen S. Roach & more
On Tuesday in an article headlined, “Declaring War on China’s Currency? Ha ha,” the People’s Daily attacked billionaire investor George Soros for suggesting he might short the renminbi. The Chinese currency has dropped 5.7 percent since August when...

Conversation

12.03.15

Does the Renminbi’s Elevation to Global Currency Matter?

Arthur R. Kroeber & Zhiwu Chen
On November 30, the International Monetary Fund approved the Chinese renminbi, also known as the yuan, as one of the world’s leading currencies, underscoring the country’s rising global financial importance. What’s behind the decision and what...

China’s Renminbi Is Approved as a Main World Currency

KEITH BRADSHER
New York Times
The I.M.F. decision will help pave the way for broader use of the renminbi in trade and finance, securing China’s standing as a global economic power.

One Thing China Got Right

Peter Coy
Bloomberg
Stocks plunged, monetary policy wavered, but Beijing finally fixed the "fixing."

Feeling Valued

Economist
The IMF changes its tune on China’s currency.

China and the World: Yuan for All

Economist
The yuan is not yet fully convertible and will not be for several years, which limits China's influence.

Milestone for Yuan Marks Rise of China

Wall Street Journal
China for the first time joined the ranks of the most-traded international currencies, underscoring the rise of the world’s second-largest economy and the growth of the global foreign-exchange market.  

Six Reasons Why Chinese People Will Drive The Next Bull Market In Bitcoin

Gwynn Guilford
Quartz
The virtual currency’s decentralized and speculative nature, combined with the country’s experience with online currencies and “gold-mining” in the past are all cited as possible factors contributing to Bitcoin’s future take off in China.

Caixin Media

06.29.12

Barclay’s Diamond Offers an Optimistic Vision

A calm, confident Robert Diamond discussed financial restructuring in Europe and economic options for the Chinese government during a June 14 interview—thirteen days before the British bank where he serves as CEO, Barclays Group, was fined for...

Reports

05.01.12

RMB Internationalization: Onshore/Offshore Links

Samar Maziad, Joong Shik Kang
Luo Xiaoyuan
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Among emerging market currencies, the RMB holds the most potential to become widely used internationally, due to China‘s large economic size, diversified trade structure and network, macroeconomic stability, and high growth rates - both current and...

Reports

11.01.11

What Drives CNH Market Equilibrium?

Peter Garber
He Jianan
Council on Foreign Relations
The recent rapid growth of the offshore renminbi market presents a puzzle for analysts of China's development strategy. By allowing renminbi to flow offshore uncontrolled before loosening government controls over internal financial markets,...

Reports

11.01.11

The Internationalization of the RMB: Opportunities and Pitfalls

Tatatoshi Ito
He Jianan
Council on Foreign Relations
China is making swift strides toward internationalizing its currency, the renminbi, but it must be careful when sequencing these changes. Without the proper reforms, wide-open Chinese financial markets would be vulnerable to massive flows of foreign...

Reports

11.01.11

The Future of International Liquidity and the Role of China

Alan M. Taylor
He Jianan
Council on Foreign Relations
Financial crises in the 1930s and 1970s showed the world that economic instability results when demand for international liquidity allows a small number of countries to run up massive debts in their own currencies. Named for the economist who first...

Reports

11.01.11

Historical Precedents for Internationalization of the RMB

Jeffrey Frankel
He Jianan
Council on Foreign Relations
The twentieth century saw the rise of the US dollar, the German mark, and the Japanese yen as international currencies. Now the Chinese renminbi is on a similar course toward reserve currency status, but its path is deviating from those of its...

Reports

11.01.11

Internationalizing the Renminbi and China’s Financial Development Model

Robert N. McCauley
He Jianan
Council on Foreign Relations
Internationalization was a spontaneous outcome of the marketplace for the rest of the world’s major currencies, but China is breaking with history by making it official policy to steer the renminbi on a path toward reserve currency status. However,...

Reports

09.26.11

China’s Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy

Wayne M. Morrison, Marc Labonte
Peony Lui
Congressional Research Service
Given its relatively low savings rate, the U.S. economy depends heavily on foreign capital inflows from countries with high savings rates (such as China) to meet its domestic investment needs and to fund the federal budget deficit. The willingness...

Reports

03.24.10

Appreciate This: Chinese Currency Rise Will Have a Negligible Effect on the Trade Deficit

Daniel Ikenson
Cato Institute
This report argues that the Obama administration and Congress should consider whether RMB appreciation would even lead to the outcomes they desire—namely, more balanced trade. The evidence does not support their objective. Although the short-term...

Reports

12.07.09

China’s Currency: A Summary of the Economic Issues

Wayne M. Morrison, Marc Labonte
Peony Lui
Congressional Research Service
Some Members of Congress charge that China’s policy of accumulating foreign reserves (especially U.S. dollars) to influence the value of its currency constitutes a form of currency manipulation intended to make its exports cheaper and imports into...

Reports

07.16.09

East Asia’s Foreign Exchange Rate Policies

Michael F. Martin
Peony Lui
Congressional Research Service
Financial authorities in East Asia have adopted a variety of foreign exchange rate policies, ranging from Hong Kong’s currency board system which links the Hong Kong dollar to the U.S. dollar, to the “independently floating” exchange rates of Japan...

Reports

07.11.06

Who’s Manipulating Whom? China’s Currency and the U.S. Economy

Daniel Griswold
Cato Institute
Congress and the Bush administration continue to pressure China to allow its currency to appreciate against the U.S. dollar under threat of trade sanctions. Critics contend “currency manipulation” gives Chinese producers an unfair advantage against...

Reports

11.29.05

China’s Currency: Brief Overview of U.S. Options

Jonathan E. Sanford
Peony Lui
Congressional Research Service
Many are concerned that China’s currency is undervalued and that this injures the U.S. economy. The Chinese authorities say they are not manipulating their currency and they want to move as soon as possible to a market-based yuan. A new exchange...