Washington returning to work after August and the Labor Day holiday, and some chatter about the prospect that currency intervention by Tokyo will complicate the diplomatic drive to get Beijing to ease off selling renminbi. The White House just despatched (who else?) Larry Summers on a charm offensive to China to ask for faster appreciation, and would dearly like the rest of the G20 to line up behind its campaign. The bad cop role is being played by Congress, which is holding a high-profile hearing on the issue next week.
But as sage Washington observers note, that becomes a harder sell if a prominent G20 member – indeed, a G7 member – is intervening as well. Of course, Washington could argue that Japan was forced into extraordinary action because of China’s persistent intervention. But at the very least it complicates the choreography. Read more
Chris Giles
Michael Steen
Robin Harding
Ralph Atkins
Claire Jones
