China urges major nations to keep forex rates stable

GYEONGJU: China's Finance Minister Xie Xuren urged major reserve currency nations Saturday to follow "responsible" economic policies and keep their foreign exchange rates relatively stable.

Xie, without directly naming the United States, said this could reduce the negative spillover from their monetary policies, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Xie was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers at which currency disputes have been a dominant topic.

Washington says Beijing is keeping its yuan grossly undervalued to help its exporters.

China counters that irresponsibly loose US monetary policy is driving down the dollar and causing a wave of capital to flood emerging markets in search of higher yields.

China will continue to boost domestic consumption as part of its efforts to rebalance its economy over the next five years, the minister said.

The G20 ministers agreed to "refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies" and aim for more market-determined exchange rate systems.

They vowed to "pursue the full range of policies conducive to reducing excessive imbalances" and maintaining current-account imbalances at sustainable levels.

"G20 nations should continue to enhance structural reform to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth in the global economy," Xie told Dow Jones.