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by URSpider94 3952 days ago
If the Yuan was free floating that might be true, but even then, since China is a net exporting nation they want a low Yuan, so that their exports are cheaper and their imports are more expensive. So why would they want to drive up the Yuan?

What they want is a very slowly appreciating Yuan. This shows that the economy is growing, and it gives China more buying power overseas, but it keeps imports affordable. This is what has happened over the past 10 years, since the government allowed the exchange rate to float. (see https://www.google.com/finance?q=CURRENCY%3ACNY&ei=bD_fVZnNN...).

The issue is that over the past month, the Yuan has actually started to DECREASE in value against the dollar, which is a sign that the economy is slowing. That's scaring the crap out of China investors, who have baked in a very high growth rate into their pricing. That's what's driving the government to put their rate control machine into reverse -- instead of trying to keep the rate from growing too fast (to favor exports), they are doing what they can to keep the rate from falling any further.