China should gradually revalue its currency to cool its booming export sector and also allow European companies fairer access to its market, the EU trade chief said yesterday.
Peter Mandelson, the EU's Trade Commissioner, said in an opinion piece published in the state-controlled China Daily that revaluation of the yuan would benefit the Chinese economy.
"Even on a difficult issue like the currency, China's interest clearly lies in a gradual revaluation that takes some of the excess heat out of the export sector and strengthens consumer purchasing power," he wrote.
Mandelson added that the revaluation should be combined with an opening-up of Chinese markets to reduce the ballooning trade deficit, which was worth about 130 billion euros (US$194 billion) in 2006.
China is widely criticized for allegedly allowing its currency to remain at an artificially low level, giving its exporters an unfair advantage and contributing to massive trade surpluses with the US and Europe.
Mandelson said European companies could not be blamed for the huge trade deficit.
"European companies compete effectively in every global market in which they are given a reasonably fair chance," he said. "However, in China, European trade and investment is still unfairly restricted, and European intellectual property rights, which are fundamental to our competitiveness, are poorly protected."
Mandelson has visited China, amid simmering tensions between the EU and China over a range of economic issues, from unfair practices to sovereign wealth funds.
The EU recently launched investigations to see if China was unfairly selling steel, cables and candles to Europe at below production cost, a practice known as dumping which can lead to retaliatory tariffs.
The European Commission, which runs the EU's international trade policy, is also considering launching WTO action against China for restrictions Beijing puts on foreign financial news organizations.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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