Debating China's Exchange Rate Policy

More than two and a half years have passed since China announced a number of changes to its foreign exchange regime in July 2005. During this period, the debate on the pros and cons of China's exchange rate policy, which had begun in earnest several years earlier, intensified. This important new book, based on an Institute conference in October 2007, takes stock of exchange rate policy in China and identifies the major policy options going forward. Specific proposals presented in the volume address how best to eliminate any misalignment of the renminbi; how best to reduce pressures emanating from the sterilization of large reserve accumulation; how best to make capital flows the ally-not the enemy-of exchange rate policy; and what institutional arrangements and policy guidelines to put in place to reap the greatest benefits from management of China's large foreign exchange reserves. Leading experts-including three from China-have contributed to the volume. The keynote address by Wu Xiaoling, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China at the time of the conference and Forbes' 18th Most Powerful Woman in the World for 2007, is also presented in the book.

Morris Goldstein, Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow since 1994, has held several senior staff positions at the International Monetary Fund (1970-94), including Deputy Director of its Research Department (1987-94). He has written extensively on international economic policy and on international capital markets. His books include Controlling Currency Mismatches in Emerging Markets (2004), Managed Floating Plus (2002), Assessing Financial Vulnerability: An Early Warning System for Emerging Markets (2000), The Asian Financial Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Systemic Implications (1998), The Case for an International Banking Standard (1997), and The Exchange Rate System and the IMF: A Modest Agenda (1995).

Nicholas R. Lardy, called "everybody's guru on China" by the National Journal, is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He has written numerous articles and books on the Chinese economy including: China The Balance Sheet (2006) Prospects for a US-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement (2004), Integrating China into the Global Economy (2002), and China's Unfinished Economic Revolution (1998). Lardy is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a member of the editorial boards of the China Quarterly, Journal of Asian Business, China Review, and China Economic Review.