【英语国际】美国决定不将中国认定为汇率操纵国

The U.S. opted against declaring China a currency manipulator Thursday, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner instead shifting the focus forward on the yuan's future appreciation.

'What matters is how far and how fast the renminbi appreciates,' said Mr. Geithner in a statement, referring to the other name for China's currency.

He pledged to 'closely and regularly monitor' the currency's appreciation and consult with Congress in ongoing efforts to expand U.S. exports to China.

The Treasury's decision once again to decline to declare formally that China is manipulating its currency is certain to further anger members of Congress, who happen to be on recess this week.

Mr. Geithner's decision to skip an April deadline to submit the semi-annual currency report to Congress raised hackles on both sides of the aisle.

He has called for patience in pursuing quiet diplomacy to get China to resume the currency appreciation that it halted in 2008 during the global crisis, pointing to the decision last month to depeg the yuan from the dollar as evidence of success.

The Treasury said in its report that the depegging is a 'significant step,' while noting that the currency remains undervalued.

Still, many lawmakers remain unconvinced by China's overture. Rep. Sander Levin (D, Mich.), who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, responded to the announcement by calling for the U.S. to consider filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization if China fails to enact significant changes in currency policy. He dismissed the yuan's gains so far as too modest.

'There is no real question that China's exchange rate policy is unfair, contributes to global trade imbalances, and costs the United States jobs and economic growth, particularly in the manufacturing sector,' said Mr. Levin in a statement.

Since China's announcement on June 19, the yuan has strengthened 0.8% against the dollar, compared with the 21.2% appreciation during the last period of depegging from July 2005 through July 2008. But the Treasury stressed that it will take time before it can assess whether the policy change will correct the undervaluation.

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill that would lower the hurdle for taking action against China, requiring only that an exchange rate is misaligned instead of having to determine that a country is intentionally manipulating the currency. It also lays out a series of escalating punitive actions, including countervailing duties and prohibiting access to U.S. government contracts.

If the Treasury finds a country is manipulating its currency under current law, it must launch bilateral talks or take the issue to the International Monetary Fund.

美国周四决定不将中国认定为汇率操纵国。美国财政部长盖特纳(Timothy Geithner)转而将重点转向人民币未来升值的问题。

盖特纳在一份声明中说，目前重要的是人民币将以多大幅度以及多快的速度升值。

盖特纳承诺将“密切并定期关注”人民币升值问题，还将与国会就扩大美国对华出口进行磋商。

美国财政部再次拒绝将中国认定为汇率操纵国的决定必然会进一步激怒本周一些正处于休会期的国会议员。

盖特纳决定不在4月份最终截止日向国会提交半年度货币报告，国会中的共和党与民主党议员对此都多有指责。

在使用克制的外交手段促使中国恢复人民币升值的进程中，他一直呼吁要保持耐心，他指出上月中国决定让人民币与美元脱钩，就是这一努力成功的证据。中国在2008年全球金融危机中暂停了人民币的升值进程。

美国财政部在报告中称，人民币与美元脱钩是“重大一步”，同时指出人民币依然被低估。

仍有许多议员依然不相信中国作出的姿态。众议院筹款委员会主席莱文（Sander Levin）回应该声明时说，如果中国不能对货币政策进行重大调整，他呼吁美国考虑向世界贸易组织（World Trade Organization）投诉。他指出迄今人民币的升值太过温和。

莱文在声明中说，毫无疑问中国的汇率政策是不公平的，导致全球贸易失衡，以牺牲美国就业和经济增长为代价，尤其是美国制造业。

中国在6月19日作出声明以来，人民币兑美元已上涨0.8%，而在2005年7月至2008年7月上次人民币与美元汇率脱钩期间，人民币升值21.2%。但美国财政部强调，评估中国的政策调整是否将修正人民币汇率低估尚须时日。

两党参议员已提出一项降低对中国采取行动的门槛的议案，仅要求指出汇率方向偏离即可采取行动，而不用判定中国有意操纵汇率。该议案还提出一系列升级的惩罚措施，其中包括反倾销税和禁止中国得到美国政府订单。

如果美国财政部发现一个国家在现行法律下有操纵汇率的行为，美国必须进行双边谈判，或将该事宜提交国际货币基金组织（International Monetary Fund）。