But a hidden cost of the Chinese government’s strategy of keeping the renminbi within a narrow trading band against the dollar is that China has been unable to take advantage of one of the crucial tools most countries use when they’re in an economic slowdown.
The renminbi on Monday was at about the same exchange rate versus the dollar that it was in mid-December. But in that time, the dollar index was up 8.7 percent, meaning the dollar — and by extension the renminbi — was up that much against other advanced nations’ currencies, like the euro, the yen and the British pound.