The end of Europe's longstanding indifference to the renminbi

In this Policy Contribution, Jean Pisani-Ferry observes the lack of European interest towards China's exchange policy rate. He believes that Europeans, compared to Americans, are slower to react to external developments. The absence of significant external deficit, doubts about which policy stance is desirable, internal disagreements, an untested governance of exchange-rate relations, and a habit of following US leadership may have all contributed to a slow European response. That said, the Europeans have recently woken up to the issue as the euro has appreciated quickly against both the dollar and the renminbi, and they can be expected to adopt an increasingly active stance on China's exchange rate policy.