A basket of currencies used as a reference

While China now has a long and diversified list of trade partners, capital and financial account transactions have also diversified across the world. A basket of currencies can meet such demand and reflect the effectiveness of the renminbi more accurately. As China's trading and investment partners become more and more diversified, it would be more appropriate for enterprises and households in China to switch their attention from just a yuan-to-dollar exchange rate to the yuan's value in terms of a basket of currencies.

No large fluctuation

A large fluctuation of the renminbi exchange rate would bring considerable shocks to domestic economic and financial stability. Keeping the renminbi exchange rate basically stable at an adaptive and equilibrium level is an important element of furthering the reform. The basis for large fluctuations does not exist. China's external trade is now more balanced. The ratio of current account surplus to GDP, after a notable reduction in 2009, has been declining since the beginning of this year, together with the more balanced BOP. Efforts would be needed to improve macroeconomic management and foreign exchange administration to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability.

Impact on enterprises and employment

The corporate sector has to deal with movements in the exchange rates between home and foreign currencies in today's international monetary system where the exchange rate of major sovereign currencies is floating. In a market economy, market conditions facing firms would be constantly changing, with raw material prices, wages, demand and tax rates sometimes fluctuating more dramatically than the exchange rate. Since China began to reform and open up, many firms have developed the ability to be more flexible and adjustable to such changes. In fact, China's exports increased by an annual average of 23.4 percent, while the exchange rate-sensitive industries such as the textile and light industries kept growing, without any significant losses or massive closures, between the start of the renminbi exchange rate reform in July 2005 and the breakout of the financial crisis in 2008. Exchange rate floating has become a driving force in industrial upgrading and opening up, facilitating the growth to be more balanced and sustainable. In the future, efforts will be delivered to create favorable conditions and encourage firms to make structural and product adjustments. The banking sector will continue to help enterprises manage exchange rate risks, and provide greater support for growth of these firms.

The reform will also help create jobs, particularly in the service sector. Exchange rate floating will encourage Chinese exporters to produce more high value-added products, and more jobs will be created when the production chain is extended and division of labor is improved. In particular, it will help improve resource allocation between the trade and non-trade sectors, and enable the service sector to absorb surplus labor from other sectors, particularly, the trade sectors.

Coordination with other policies

The exchange rate policy has to work together with other policies to address all the structural problems facing China's economic development. Other measures include improving the income distribution structure by increasing the share of household income, boosting consumer demand, and strengthening the social security system. It is also necessary to promote private sector particularly in the service industry through providing greater market access for private capital. Further reform of the energy pricing mechanism is also necessary to raise economic efficiency and strengthen the growth sustainability. While expanding imports, efforts will continue to make it easier for enterprises to make outward investment and for households to purchase and use foreign exchange. The supervision and regulation over capital flows have to be strengthened, and in this regard efforts to identify and penalize foreign exchange-related irregularities have to be stepped up.

Impact on the use of foreign currencies

One primary task for the foreign exchange administration system reform is to facilitate the use of foreign currencies and holding of foreign exchange assets by domestic enterprises and households at lower costs. The reform will not increase the cost of currency exchange services at banks. In fact, the cost of currency exchange for enterprises and households in China is relatively low. Current regulations on currency exchange services at banks will continue to be effective.