U.S. President Barack Obama called on China, using unusually harsh language, to no longer “play” with the international economic system through trade and monetary policy which it practiced, while Beijing responded stressing that the rules were written “by others”, without consultation. “Enough!”, exclaimed Obama at a news conference at the end of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, where he managed a significant progress towards creating a free trade area in the Pacific, writes Reuters.
Just a day after talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Obama urged China to stop “playing” with the international economic system and participate in creating a uniform market for U.S. companies and elsewhere. “We remain firm in requesting China to operate by the same rules as everyone else. We do not want China to take advantage of the United States”, Obama said.
China responded by showing that it refuses to abide by international economic rules for which it did not participate at the time of setting them up. “First we need to know what are the rules we talk about. If the rules are set collectively by consensus with contribution from China, then China will follow. If the rules are decided by one or only a few countries, China has no obligation to comply”, said Pang Sen, Deputy Director General at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Obama insisted that Beijing allow a steeper depreciation of the yuan, noting that the currency is kept artificially low, affecting U.S. companies and U.S. jobs. He noted that China, although often presented as a developing economy, has not “matured” and should act maturely on global economic issues.
The hard exchange of words between the U.S. and China contrasts with the unit that leaders from the Asia-Pacific summit tried to show, where they promised that they will strengthen economic growth and improve trade relations, in order to defend the region from the consequences and effects of state debt crisis in the euro area. Members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which generates more than half of global GDP, said that they have agreed to “ways to combat significant negative risks” that threaten world economy.