الرئيسية
BEIJING
(AP) — Chinese and Japanese leaders have unveiled initiatives to
tighten financial links between East Asia's economic giants and sometime
rivals — measures that could expand use of China's tightly controlled
currency abroad.
During a visit to Beijing by Japanese Prime
Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the two governments said in a surprise
announcement Sunday they will encourage use of their own currencies in
bilateral trade, which now is conducted mostly in U.S. dollars.
They
also agreed to support the sale of bonds denominated in China's yuan by
Japanese companies in Tokyo and foreign markets and by the state-owned
Japan Bank of International Cooperation in mainland China's markets,
which are closed to most foreign investors.
The pledges were a
striking step for China and Japan, which are the world's second- and
third-largest economies and are bound by billions of dollars in trade
but whose political relations often are strained over conflicting
territorial claims and other disputes.
"To support the growing
economic and financial ties between China and Japan, the leaders of
China and Japan have agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in financial
markets of both countries and encourage financial transactions between
the two countries," the governments said in identically worded
statements.
They said Japan's government also planned to purchase
Chinese government bonds, and an application process for official
approval of that was under way.
The governments gave no timetable
for practical steps to put the pledges into action or the size of
possible bond offerings. Commercial banks still have to create
yuan-denominated letters of credit and other tools before traders in
Japan can use the currency.
The moves might reduce the dominance
of the U.S. dollar in East Asia, the world's fastest-growing region. The
Kyodo News agency cited a Japanese official who told reporters some 60
percent of trade between Japan and China is now settled in dollars,
which requires companies to convert money between yen, dollars and yuan,
adding to their costs.
Beijing controls the yuan's exchange rate
and the flow of money into and out of China's booming economy. But the
government has begun allowing limited use of yuan for trade. It said
this month that some companies that obtain Chinese currency abroad will
be allowed to invest it in mainland financial markets.
Most trade
in yuan is conducted through Hong Kong, where Beijing also has created a
market for yuan-denominated bonds that McDonald's Corp. and some other
foreign companies have used to raise money to invest in their mainland
operations.
The easing of controls on bond sales could help to
reduce costs for Japanese companies that need to raise money to invest
in their China operations.
The communist government keeps China's
bond and other financial markets sealed off from global financial flows.
That helped the country avoid the turmoil of the 2008 global financial
crisis but has slowed the development of markets that Chinese leaders
want to support economic development.
The latest pledges also might help to promote moves to allow the yuan to trade more freely on currency markets.
The
United States and other trading partners complain that Beijing's
currency controls keep the yuan undervalued, giving China's exporters an
unfair price advantage and hurting foreign competitors at a time when
the global economy is struggling.
(AP) — Chinese and Japanese leaders have unveiled initiatives to
tighten financial links between East Asia's economic giants and sometime
rivals — measures that could expand use of China's tightly controlled
currency abroad.
During a visit to Beijing by Japanese Prime
Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the two governments said in a surprise
announcement Sunday they will encourage use of their own currencies in
bilateral trade, which now is conducted mostly in U.S. dollars.
They
also agreed to support the sale of bonds denominated in China's yuan by
Japanese companies in Tokyo and foreign markets and by the state-owned
Japan Bank of International Cooperation in mainland China's markets,
which are closed to most foreign investors.
The pledges were a
striking step for China and Japan, which are the world's second- and
third-largest economies and are bound by billions of dollars in trade
but whose political relations often are strained over conflicting
territorial claims and other disputes.
"To support the growing
economic and financial ties between China and Japan, the leaders of
China and Japan have agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in financial
markets of both countries and encourage financial transactions between
the two countries," the governments said in identically worded
statements.
They said Japan's government also planned to purchase
Chinese government bonds, and an application process for official
approval of that was under way.
The governments gave no timetable
for practical steps to put the pledges into action or the size of
possible bond offerings. Commercial banks still have to create
yuan-denominated letters of credit and other tools before traders in
Japan can use the currency.
The moves might reduce the dominance
of the U.S. dollar in East Asia, the world's fastest-growing region. The
Kyodo News agency cited a Japanese official who told reporters some 60
percent of trade between Japan and China is now settled in dollars,
which requires companies to convert money between yen, dollars and yuan,
adding to their costs.
Beijing controls the yuan's exchange rate
and the flow of money into and out of China's booming economy. But the
government has begun allowing limited use of yuan for trade. It said
this month that some companies that obtain Chinese currency abroad will
be allowed to invest it in mainland financial markets.
Most trade
in yuan is conducted through Hong Kong, where Beijing also has created a
market for yuan-denominated bonds that McDonald's Corp. and some other
foreign companies have used to raise money to invest in their mainland
operations.
The easing of controls on bond sales could help to
reduce costs for Japanese companies that need to raise money to invest
in their China operations.
The communist government keeps China's
bond and other financial markets sealed off from global financial flows.
That helped the country avoid the turmoil of the 2008 global financial
crisis but has slowed the development of markets that Chinese leaders
want to support economic development.
The latest pledges also might help to promote moves to allow the yuan to trade more freely on currency markets.
The
United States and other trading partners complain that Beijing's
currency controls keep the yuan undervalued, giving China's exporters an
unfair price advantage and hurting foreign competitors at a time when
the global economy is struggling.