人民币升值 美国亦得不偿失

在美国即将举行中期选举之际，美国国会部分议员近日不断炒作人民币汇率问题，试图迫使美国政府将中国界定为所谓的"汇率操纵国"。但中国及西方经济学家批评这种做法，认为人民币升值将会损害美国消费者利益，不利于全球经济复苏。

Some U.S. senators have proposed legislation to press China to allow an increase in the value of its currency. The bill threatens China with duties on some of its exports, and pressures the Obama Administration to label China a currency manipulator.

Jim O'Neill, Chief Economist of Goldman Sacks, says the move is unjustified based on his research.

"The model that we used, I created 15 years ago, suggests that the Renminbi used to be undervalued. But actually it isn't particularly undervalued anymore. I think it's rather unfortunate that we have so much political angst around this issue persistently."

Some U.S. politicians have long alleged that the Renminbi exchange rate is a key factor behind the trade imbalance between China and the U.S. They claim that the currency's exchange rate is undervalued, which has benefited China's exports.

But Yi Xianrong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says a possible rise in the Renminbi's exchange rate will harm the interests of U.S. consumers.

"The products that China exports to the U.S. are mainly daily necessities for American consumers. The low-priced and good-quality Chinese goods have reduced the cost of living for common U.S. citizens. If their prices go up due to revaluation of the Renminbi, the U.S. consumers will be faced with higher costs of living."

He adds that Renminbi revaluation will also have a detrimental effect on the recovery of the world economy.

"The key problem of the world financial market is that it faces many uncertainties. So a stable Renminbi is very important to the stability of the international financial system and the recovery of the world economy. Substantial fluctuations of the currency's exchange rate will bring about additional uncertainties and harm the rebounding world economy."

Yi Xianrong says that the U.S. should lift its control on the exports of high-tech products to China if it really wants to solve the trade imbalance problem.

The U.S. Treasury Department will decide whether to label China as a currency manipulator in mid-April.