What does this mean for the rest of the world?
The most immediate effect is that it signals to the world that Beijing thinks the Chinese economy is sputtering. The move suggests China is looking for ways to get it going again. But it also has major implications for the U.S. and other countries that trade with China because it puts their companies at a disadvantage. In the U.S., it will likely reignite criticism that Beijing keeps the currency artificially low to help its own manufacturers – a charge that could get added impetus during the presidential election campaign.
a currency devaluation helps countries sell more exports, boosting the economy. Right now the Chinese economy is in the midst of an economic slowdown and has suffered from stock market turmoil, so it can use some extra help.
Most developed countries, including the United States, allow the market to set the value of their currency. US policies can affect the value of the dollar indirectly, of course, but day-to-day fluctuations in the dollar's value are determined by supply and demand for dollars, not by the US government.
China has taken a different approach. Until 2005, the government kept its currency pegged to the dollar, with the central bank buying or selling currency as necessary to ensure that one dollar was worth around 8.2 yuan. Since 2005, the currency has been pegged to a basket of currencies, and the exchange rate has changed over time, but China still actively manages the currency's value on a day-to-day basis.
For much of the past decade, China faced accusations that it was using its control over the currency to make Chinese exports artificially cheap. Especially in the years after the 2008 financial crisis, US critics accused China of using control over its currency to give Chinese companies an unfair advantage over US companies. That was a big deal because in the depths of the recession, US businesses needed all the customers they could get.
NO ONE EXPECTS CHINA TO LET GO OF THE LEASH ALTOGETHER
But things have changed. Over the past five years, the US economy has been getting stronger, pushing up the value of the US dollar. Meanwhile, the Chinese economy has been getting weaker. The result: The Chinese government no longer needs to intervene in the market to get a cheaper yuan — and the export boost that comes with it. It simply needs to relax its control over the currency and let market forces push its value down.
Still, Gagnon stresses that "the People's Bank of China has complete control over what happens to their currency." If the government had wanted to prevent the yuan from falling, it could have used its vast currency reserves to accomplish that. It chose not to
What does this mean for the rest of the world?The most immediate effect is that it signals to the world that Beijing thinks the Chinese economy is sputtering. The move suggests China is looking for ways to get it going again. But it also has major implications for the U.S. and other countries that trade with China because it puts their companies at a disadvantage. In the U.S., it will likely reignite criticism that Beijing keeps the currency artificially low to help its own manufacturers – a charge that could get added impetus during the presidential election campaign.a currency devaluation helps countries sell more exports, boosting the economy. Right now the Chinese economy is in the midst of an economic slowdown and has suffered from stock market turmoil, so it can use some extra help.Most developed countries, including the United States, allow the market to set the value of their currency. US policies can affect the value of the dollar indirectly, of course, but day-to-day fluctuations in the dollar's value are determined by supply and demand for dollars, not by the US government.China has taken a different approach. Until 2005, the government kept its currency pegged to the dollar, with the central bank buying or selling currency as necessary to ensure that one dollar was worth around 8.2 yuan. Since 2005, the currency has been pegged to a basket of currencies, and the exchange rate has changed over time, but China still actively manages the currency's value on a day-to-day basis.For much of the past decade, China faced accusations that it was using its control over the currency to make Chinese exports artificially cheap. Especially in the years after the 2008 financial crisis, US critics accused China of using control over its currency to give Chinese companies an unfair advantage over US companies. That was a big deal because in the depths of the recession, US businesses needed all the customers they could get.NO ONE EXPECTS CHINA TO LET GO OF THE LEASH ALTOGETHERBut things have changed. Over the past five years, the US economy has been getting stronger, pushing up the value of the US dollar. Meanwhile, the Chinese economy has been getting weaker. The result: The Chinese government no longer needs to intervene in the market to get a cheaper yuan — and the export boost that comes with it. It simply needs to relax its control over the currency and let market forces push its value down.Still, Gagnon stresses that "the People's Bank of China has complete control over what happens to their currency." If the government had wanted to prevent the yuan from falling, it could have used its vast currency reserves to accomplish that. It chose not to
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