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Canada in step with U.S. on China's currency
Paul Vieira, Financial Post
Published: Wednesday, February 04, 2009
OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Jim Flaherty appears to be in lockstep with the Obama administration in cranking up the rhetoric against China by suggesting Wednesday morning that next week's meeting of the Group of Seven finance officials will deal with worries over the "inflexibility" of certain Asian currencies.
Mr. Flaherty's comments, prior to the Conservative Party's weekly caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, come a day after he spoke with his U.S. counterpart, new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. It was Mr. Geithner who raised eyebrows in Washington and Beijing when he offered testimony to the U.S. Senate, as part of his confirmation hearing last month, suggesting that China is manipulating its currency to keep its yuan low and exports high.
Mr. Flaherty said he expected the G7 finance ministers, who gather in Rome on Feb. 13 and 14, to issue a final communiqué to reflect policymakers' concerns about "the inflexibility" of some Asian currencies.
"I expect it to be raised. I spoke with Geithner [on Tuesday] about a number of issues. I won't get into what issues we discussed of course," he told the Reuters News Agency.
Relations between Canada and China have turned rocky since the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, took power in early 2006. Last year, the Canadian government angered Beijing by holding an official meeting with the Dalai Lama. Further, Mr. Harper refused to follow other world leaders in attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Canadian business people in the region frequently bemoan Mr. Harper's failure to visit Beijing.
But Canada is no stranger to calling for China to adopt a more flexible currency policy. The Bank of Canada, under former governor David Dodge, long urged China to adopt the kind of currency flexibility that Canada has embraced.
Paul Vieira, Financial Post
Published: Wednesday, February 04, 2009
OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Jim Flaherty appears to be in lockstep with the Obama administration in cranking up the rhetoric against China by suggesting Wednesday morning that next week's meeting of the Group of Seven finance officials will deal with worries over the "inflexibility" of certain Asian currencies.
Mr. Flaherty's comments, prior to the Conservative Party's weekly caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, come a day after he spoke with his U.S. counterpart, new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. It was Mr. Geithner who raised eyebrows in Washington and Beijing when he offered testimony to the U.S. Senate, as part of his confirmation hearing last month, suggesting that China is manipulating its currency to keep its yuan low and exports high.
Mr. Flaherty said he expected the G7 finance ministers, who gather in Rome on Feb. 13 and 14, to issue a final communiqué to reflect policymakers' concerns about "the inflexibility" of some Asian currencies.
"I expect it to be raised. I spoke with Geithner [on Tuesday] about a number of issues. I won't get into what issues we discussed of course," he told the Reuters News Agency.
Relations between Canada and China have turned rocky since the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, took power in early 2006. Last year, the Canadian government angered Beijing by holding an official meeting with the Dalai Lama. Further, Mr. Harper refused to follow other world leaders in attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Canadian business people in the region frequently bemoan Mr. Harper's failure to visit Beijing.
But Canada is no stranger to calling for China to adopt a more flexible currency policy. The Bank of Canada, under former governor David Dodge, long urged China to adopt the kind of currency flexibility that Canada has embraced.
