UpdateChina’s Premier Li Keqiang plays down fears of global currency war, vows to keep yuan stable
Premier says Beijing can and will keep the yuan stable and more devaluation not part of the plan
Premier Li Keqiang sought to play down concerns about a global currency war and Beijing's ability to maintain a stable yuan as he addressed business chiefs at the start of the World Economic Forum meeting on Wednesday.
Li gave assurances as he spoke to the international business community for the first time to try to restore confidence in China's economic and financial markets in the aftermath of the July stock market rout and last month's sudden devaluation of the yuan.
And we do not want to see a global currency war … it would only harm China
"We don't hope to depreciate the yuan to stimulate exports. This is not in line with the direction of structural adjustment. And we do not want to see a global currency war because it would only do harm to China," Li said in response to a question from Boston Consulting Group president Rich Lesser on the yuan's devaluation and the outlook for its globalisation.
The People's Bank of China surprised the world on August 11 with a nearly 2 per cent devaluation of the yuan against the US dollar and the start of a three-day weakening of the currency.
Those moves caused tension in global markets.
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Li said exporters feared they would lose long-term orders if the market expected continued falls in the yuan. He also said ongoing depreciation was not a policy option for the currency's internationalisation.