China Daily Weekly - 09.08.2019

BySTAFFWRITERS
in Shenzhen and Hong Kong

T

he central government will
not sit byif the situation
in Hong Kong deteriorates
to a point that the Hong
Kong SpecialAdministrative Region
government cannot handle, Zhang
Xiaoming, director of the Hong
Kong and MacaoAffairs Office of the
StateCouncil, said at a symposium
in Shenzhen, Guangdong province,
onAug 7.
The central government has suf-
ficient capabilities to quicklyquell
possible unrest as empowered bythe
Basic Law of Hong Kong, Zhang said.
“The most pressing and overriding
task at present is to stop violence,
end the chaos and restore order, so
as to safeguard our homeland and
prevent Hong Kong from sinking
into an abyss,” Zhang said, adding
that it is facing “the most serious

situation” since its return to the

motherland in 1997.

Speaking to about 55 0 dignitaries

from a wide cross-section of Hong

Kong society, Zhang said the cen-

tral government is highlyconcerned

about the situation in the cityand

is closelyfollowing developments

there.

Zhang’s remarks followed two ear-

lier news conferences bythe office to

voice concerns about the turmoil in

Hong Kong. Since June 9, anti-extra-

dition-bill protests have not only

grown bigger and more widespread,

but have also become more violent.

Anyact challenging the “one coun-

try,twosystems” bottom line will not

be tolerated, Zhang said.

Keyrepresentatives attending the

symposium included Hong Kong

lawmakers, deputies to the National

People’sCongress and members of

the NationalCommittee of theChi-

nese People’s PoliticalConsultative

Conference, as well as members of

centralgovernment institutions in

Hong Kong.

Wang Zhimin, director of the Liai-

son Office of theCentral People’s

Government in the HKSAR, and

Yang Jianping, deputydirector of the

office, also attended the symposium.

Wang said that Hong Kong is expe-

riencing a crucial battle that concerns

the city’s destinyand future. Putting

an end to violence is the city’s top pri-

orityand also the common aspiration

and the most urgent demand of the

city’s people, he said.

Tam Yiu-chung, a Hong Kong

member of the NPCStandingCom-

mittee, said the loud and clear mes-

sage he heard from the symposium

was that the “one country,twosys-

tems” bottom line must not be chal-

lenged.

The spate of violent protests in

Hong Kong is a “revolution” aimed at

toppling the government, said Regina

Ip Lau Suk-yee, executive councilor

and former secretaryfor security.

The protests are reallya revolution

in disguise, with violent mobs chant-

ing the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong,

revolution of the time”, orchestrated

byexternal forces to overthrow the

government, she said in an inter-

view, adding there is no need for the

People’s LiberationArmyto be mobi-

lized to cope with the situation.

Speaking after attending the morn-

ing session of the full-daysympo-

sium, MargaretChan Fung Fu-chun,

former director-general of the World

Health Organization, said the success

of Hong Kong as an international

metropolis is built on the respect for

different voices and on resolving dif-

ferences through dialogue.

She said in her 25years as a civil

servant in the colonial government,

she had never seen so manypeople

allowedto protest on the streets —

something that never would have

been possible without the guaran-

tees of theBasic Law and the “one

country,twosystems”.

Lawmaker StarryLee Wai-king

said stopping violence was what the

public wanted.

“I believe nobodywants to see an

unstable Hong Kong as everyone

needs to paya price for the mayhem,”

Lee said.

Official:Challenging‘onecountry,two

systems’principlewillnotbetolerated

Pressing task

in HKis ‘to

stop violence’

ByCHENJIA inBeijing and
BELINDAROBINSON in New York

China did not and will not use
exchange rates as a measure to cope
with trade disputes, and the United
States labeling the countrya “curren-
cymanipulator” is inconsistent with
truth and the quantitative criteria
set bythe US TreasuryDepartment
itself, saidBeijing authorities.
The StateAdministration of
ForeignExchange,China’s foreign
exchange regulator, said onAug 7
that the US labeling “is completely
the opposite of the truth, and the
action simplydoesn’t hold water”.
The US move is not consistent with
the quantitative criteria set bythe US
TreasuryDepartment for a so-called
“currencymanipulator”, said Wang
Chunying, a spokeswoman for SAFE.
The Omnibus Trade andCom-
petitivenessAct of 1988, which was
quoted bythe US TreasuryDepart-
ment, has no specific criterion, and

“it is much more arbitraryand capri-

cious”, according to Wang.

Theyuan weakened beyond 7 per

US dollar onAug 5 for the first time

since May 200 8, after the US admin-

istration said a 1 0 percent tariff

would be imposed on an additional

$3 00 billion ofChinese goods start-

ing on Sept 1. The onshore traded

yuan had dropped 1.33 percent to

7. 0 352 per dollar at close.
   “The US labeling is an arbitrary,
   unilateral and protectionist practice,
   which seriouslydamagesinternation-
   al rules and will significantlyimpact
   the global economyand financial
   markets,” said the People’sBank of
   China, the central bank, onAug 6.
   The PBOCmade the remark fol-
   lowing Washington’s decision on
   Aug5tolabelBeijing a “currency
   manipulator”. The US will engage
   with the International Monetary
   Fund to eliminateChina’s “unfair
   competitive advantage”, the US Trea-
   surysaid in a statement.

The US Treasuryuses three cri-

teria to applythe designation of a

currencymanipulator: having large

trade surpluses with the US, hav-

ing a large current account surplus

exceeding 3 percent of GDP and

activelyintervening in the currency

markets.China does not meet those

three criteria, and the US said on

May28 that the countrywas not a

currencymanipulator in its semian-

nual currencyreport.

China’s current account surplus to

GDP ratio was 0 .4 percent, slightly

higher thanzero lastyear.

The renminbi exchange rate

regime is a managed floating one

based on market supplyand demand

and with reference to a basket of cur-

rencies, the PBOCsaid.

Yi Gang, the PBOCgovernor, reit-

erated onAug 5 thatChinawill not

pursue a competitive devaluation of

the RMB, nor will it use exchange

rates as a means for competition or

coping with trade disputes.

Former US treasurysecretary

Lawrence Summers also criticized

Washington’s decision to labelChina

a“currencymanipulator”, and said

TreasurySecretarySteven Mnuchin

has “damaged his credibilityand

that of his office” bydoing so.

Summers, in an opinion piece

published onAug 6 in The Wash-

ington Post, said: “Bylabeling as

Chinese currencymanipulation an

exchange-rate move that was obvi-

ouslya natural response to his boss’

policies, (Mnuchin) has damaged his

credibilityand that of his office.”

Daniel Ikenson, director of the

Cato Institute’sCenter for Trade Pol-

icyStudies in Washington, tweeted:

“TheChinese did not devalue their

currency.Theyuan has been depre-

ciating because of the tariffs and it is

no longer tenable forChina to con-

tinue to prop up theyuan. There is

no manipulation.”

Wu Ge, chief economist at

Changjiang Securities, called the US

Treasury’s move “an imprudent deci-

sion”. “Acountrycannot be designat-

ed as a currencymanipulator only

because of one or two days’ exchange

rate fluctuations.”

Last month, the International

MonetaryFund confirmed that the

exchange rate of the renminbi had

become more flexible and regis-

tered real appreciation over the past

decade.The increased exchange rate

flexibilityhas driven downChina’s

trade surplus to a historicallylow lev-

el, much closer to a balance, it said.

Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the

MinistryofCommerce’s Internation-

al Trade andEconomicCooperation

Institute, said the recent weakness

of the renminbi against the dollar

reflected the increasing influence

that market forces have had on the

RMBexchange rate, and its fluctua-

tions were normal.

ScottReevesandLiuZhihua

contributedtothisstory.

Ex-UStreasurychiefalsocriticalofmoveasdamagingtoAmericancredibility

Beijing:Manipulatorlabelis‘oppositeoftruth’

Dignitaries from a wide cross-section ofHongKong society voice their will to restore order and

stability in the special administrative region, while meeting the media after a symposium in Shenzhen,

Guangdong province, onAug 7.CAIYANG/XINHUA

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