BEIJING (AP) – China has no plans to devalue its yuan to boost exports and will keep its exchange rate stable, the country’s top economic official said Wednesday.
Premier Li Keqiang’s comments follow heavy spending by the central bank to shore up the currency.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to declare that Beijing improperly manipulates its exchange rate, a step that opens the way to possible trade sanctions.
“China has no intention to devalue its currency to boost exports,” Li said at a news conference following the annual legislative session. He said the exchange rate “will remain generally stable.”
Economists say that while Beijing suppressed the yuan’s value in the previous decade, more recently market pressures are weakening the currency against the dollar and it would fall further without central bank intervention.