BEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. pressure on China to raise the value of its currency amounts to Washington abdicating responsibility for ballooning deficits and would impede global economic recovery, an official Chinese newspaper said on Friday.
The commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily
is the latest jab in a quarrel over the yuan
The forthright rejection of those arguments in the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Part is the latest sign that Beijing has no intention of bowing to outside pressure.
Instead, it squarely lays the blame for the dollar's woes at Washington's door.
"In fact, harping on about the appreciation of the renminbi is an attempt to distract attention and shirk responsibility, and to make other countries, including China, pay the bill for the United States' gigantic trade and fiscal deficits," said the commentary, written by Shi Jianxun, an economist at Tongji University in Shanghai.
"Without any doubt, appreciation of the renminbi would not help global economic recovery, because for now this recovery is unstable, and the exchange rates of the world's major economies should not suddenly change."
The overseas edition of the People's Daily is a low-circulation offshoot of the domestic paper. It often gives more forthright views than its parent.
While such a commentary might not directly reflect leadership opinion, its appearance in China's tightly controlled official media suggests elite opinion remains hostile to appreciation of the yuan.
The rebuff came at the end of a week when visiting President Barack Obama, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund and other prominent voices pressed Beijing on the yuan.
On Thursday, two U.S. senators asked the Commerce Department to investigate alleged Chinese currency "manipulation", a designation the Obama administration has so far refused to invoke despite its complaints over the yuan. [ID:nN19471538]
A high-level European Union delegation is also expected to press the case for a stronger yuan next week. [ID:nLJ372558]
The U.S. trade deficit with China widened 9.2 percent in September to $22.1 billion, the highest since November 2008, but Shi said yuan appreciation was not the solution.
"If China abruptly lifts the exchange rate of the renminbi, this will gravely distort the proper path of economic development. Nor will Western countries see their trade deficits shrink as a result," he wrote.
"Keeping the renminbi exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable, balanced level helps the economic stability of the Asian region and also stable global economic development."
China let the yuan rise 21 percent between July 2005 and July 2008 but has since repegged the exchange rate around 6.83 per dollar to help its exporters weather the global recession.
China's central bank last week tweaked its description of how it manages the currency, setting off speculation it might give the yuan more room to move.
But market expectations of appreciation have remained muted and Chinese officials have rejected calls for a rapid shift. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Alan Wheatley)