China Refuses to Adjust Yuan

Once again, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is showing no signs of easing up in his country’s tough rhetorical stance against the United States. After riding out the financial crisis with some success, Wen made it clear that he would ignore the United States’ request to allow the yuan to appreciate against the dollar. President Obama had asked that China adopt “a more market-oriented exchange rate”—letting the yuan appreciate would theoretically make American exports more accessible in China. But Wen shot back that he does not believe the yuan to be undervalued and said the U.S. was using a protectionist tactic by seeking to grow its exports by modifying exchange rates.