Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan confirmed on
Thursday that Finance Minister Jin Renqing and of? People's
Bank of China Governor Zhou
Xiaochun will participate in a special meeting with the Group
of Seven (G7) industrialized countries on October 1.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the United States,
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan will hold a
formal meeting in Washington, D.C., on October 1, ahead of
semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank. Chinese officials will join them for an informal dinner
meeting that evening.
US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs John Taylor
said that one purpose of the meeting is a "high-level engagement"
with China on its currency policy.
Many US economists, manufacturers and labor organizations
believe that China's fixed exchange rate gives the country's
products an unfair price advantage in global markets.
Bloomberg.com quoted Taylor as saying, "The engagement is very
important. China is a large and growing economy."
Although the meeting is believed by many to presage China's
eventual inclusion in the G7 as a full member, Taylor reportedly
said it was too early to tell.
The Chinese finance minister and central bank governor are
expected to hold bilateral meetings with some G7 members ahead of
the formal meeting.
(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2004)