US delays publishing exchange rate report

    10-16-2010 The US Treasury 1 Department(财政部) says it will delay the publication of its half-yearly international economic and exchange rate policy report to Congress（国会） which was due to be released Friday.

    The Treasury Department says in a statement that the Heads of State, finance ministers, G20 central bank governors and leaders from the Asia-Pacific region will take part in several key meetings over the coming weeks.

    They will provide an opportunity to make additional（附加的额外的） progress on the important challenge of securing stronger and more balanced growth. The delay aims to take advantage of the opportunity provided by these important events.

    Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, says the Chinese currency has appreciated by roughly 3 percent against the US dollar since June the 19th this year.

    China announced in June that it would renew the reform of its exchange rate mechanism 2 and allow the exchange rate to move higher in response to market forces. Since September the 2nd, the pace of its currency appreciation 3 has risen to more than one percent a month.

    Geithner also says the appreciation of the Chinese currency shows China's growing economic strength and that it has made efforts to implement 4 reforms and increase domestic consumption. By sustaining this course, China has been making an essential contribution to global economic growth.

    Geithner says the challenge of building a stronger, more balanced and sustainable（难以忍受的） global economic recovery is a multilateral challenge, and not just the responsibility of China and the US. It requires policy reforms in all major economies.

    Analysts 5 say if the exchange rate policy report is published as scheduled, the US Treasury has to explain the present Renminbi exchange rate, by adding the so-called "the undervaluation of Renminbi" into the report, or branding China as "currency manipulator". But during the so-called "Currency War", the US Treasury's final assessment（评定,估价） of the Renminbi exchange rate hasn't yet been decided 6.

    Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary, said, "China needs to have the independence to set the policy for their country. It's in their interest to again move to a more flexible system. It allows them to run their policies. And it will help them to contain the inflation risks in China."

    According to US legislation, the Treasury needs to hand in its international economic and exchange rate policy report to the Congress every six months. After Barack Obama became president, the Treasury declared in three reports that no business partners had been found to be gaining unfair advantage in international trade by manipulating their currency rates. Geithner said "declaring China as a currency manipulator may lead to side effects".

    US media reports say the Obama administration does not want to be accused of bias 7 towards China before the midterm elections, nor bear the consequences of triggering a trade war between the two countries. Taking all factors into account, postponing 8 the controversial document's publication is perhaps the best choice for the US administration.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）