Seeking a balanced approach on the global economic rebalancing: China’s answers to international policy cooperation

Despite playing a crucial role in the world economy and in any framework for policy cooperation, there is little awareness among policy-makers in developed countries of China’s views and policy directions. Aimed to address this gap, this article attempts to integrate the different views of mainstream Chinese experts and scholars who have influence in shaping the country’s foreign economic policy. The author suggests that differentiating between the two concepts of current account imbalance and international currency power imbalance can offer a persuasive explanation of China’s positions on international policy coordination, and help advance the global debate on the issue of global economic rebalancing. Chinese analysts generally resist the one-off rapid appreciation of the RMB exchange rate, but they support international collaboration for rebalancing the global economy and emphasize the implementation of China’s own obligations by carrying forward domestic structural reforms of the Chinese economy. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.