RMB dispute put aside but will never be non-political
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US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced last Saturday that the US government will delay its report on the exchange rate policy of America's main trading partners, including China. The report was expected to be released in mid-April and label China as a currency manipulator to pave the way for sanctions.
The move indicates the Obama administration is trying to delay making a clear statement on the RMB exchange rate issue, which has become the toughest problem in Sino-US relations.
Although this doesn't mean that the dispute is over or suspended, most of Chinese exporters win at least three months' peace.
The past two weeks have brought signs of relaxation.
On March 22, Premier Wen Jiabao met overseas representatives who attended the 2010 China Development Forum and told them China would increase import from the U.S.
On March 23, the Foreign Ministry announced that the second round of Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue would be held as planned by the end of May in Beijing.
On March 24, Deputy Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan visited the U.S. for 30 hours. He held a press conference and wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal that disassociated the trade balance with the value of the RMB and promoted mutually beneficial Sino-US trade.
Geithner said by the end of March he's "quite confident that they (China) will decide it's in their interest to move." But "China is going to have to decide its exchange rate. We can't force them to make that change."
On the last day of March, the US Trade Representative Office criticized China's multiple trade barriers but did not mention China's exchange rate policy.
On April 1, the Foreign Ministry announced that President Hu Jintao will attend the Global Summit on Nuclear Safety led by US President Barack Obama on April 12 and 13. It implies that the report on the exchange rate policy that was supposed to be released on April 15 will either be delayed or announce that China doesn't manipulate its currency.
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