© 2015 Prof. Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers University
After 20 years, the Chinese government must be used to it—being bashed by US politicians and Congress as a “currency manipulator.” Indeed, the exchange value of the yuan (or renminbi [RMB]) is fixed each morning by its central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), with a narrow band of only + 2 percent allowed, up or down, within which market forces can have their say. In effect, it is an exchange rate set and controlled by the PBoC.
But why pick on just China?
Most countries “manipulate” their exchange rates…
According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), well over half its member countries’ governments meddle, in a mild or total fashion, to influence or fix their exchange rates. As shown in Figure 1, “Fixed Peg” and “Currency Board” are countries with currency values fixed for a considerable period of months or years. In “Managed Float” cases, market forces are allowed to play, but with the government intervening (buying or selling) to bias the exchange rate upward or downward. “Adjustable Pegs” are situations where the government fixes the rate temporarily—for months at a time or daily, as in the case of China. It is only with a few major currencies, such as the dollar or euro, that the government allows a “Free Float” with minimal or no intervention.
Figure 1: Percentages of IMF Member Nations Intervening in Foreign Exchange Rates (Source: IMF)
What exactly is behind the accusation of “currency manipulation”?
Generally, the accusation alleges that the government is keeping its currency too weak, overly devalued, or undervalued in order to give an artificial boost to exports while keeping out imports. This has the effect of boosting jobs in that country.
Take China as an example. A Chinese exporter earning a dollar turns it into the bank and gets 6.4 RMB yuan. By comparing costs in China and elsewhere, IMF and other economists calculate a hypothetical purchasing power parity (PPP) rate of 5.7 RMB/$, which would supposedly prevail under market equilibrium and without government meddling. At 6.4, some economists argue the RMB is still undervalued. But if the theoretical rate of 5.7 RMB/$ were to happen, the Chinese exporter would get only 5.7 RMB per dollar at the bank counter. The 6.4 RMB/$ rate provides a 12 percent higher revenue to the Chinese exporter, compared with the hypothetical 5.7 RMB/$ rate that some economists say should prevail. The still-undervalued 6.4 RMB/$ rate, they allege, gives the Chinese exporter an advantage.
By the same token, imports into China cost 12 percent more at the allegedly undervalued 6.4 RMB/$ rate than at the PPP 5.7 RMB/$. This, they allege, makes imports into China 12 percent more expensive than they should be, thereby keeping some foreign products out of China and benefiting (or protecting) Chinese firms that produce substitute products that compete with imports. On both the import and export side, an undervalued exchange rate boosts or preserves jobs in China (at the expense of jobs in the rest of the world).
But the Chinese have already massively appreciated their currency since 2005…
It must be particularly galling to the Chinese to hear accusations of currency manipulation since, succumbing to pressure from Western countries, they have already massively appreciated their currency in the 10 years since 2005. In June 2005, following more than a decade of a fixed exchange rate at 8.27 RMB/$ (when it was indeed undervalued), the Chinese gradually appreciated their currency all the way to 6.2 RMB/$ by July 2015. In the minds of many Chinese economists, their currency is no longer undervalued at around 6.2 for three reasons:
1. Between June 2005 and July 2015, the RMB appreciated/strengthened by 36 percent (see Figure 2)
This means that Chinese exporters in 2015 earned as much as 33 percent less that they would have at the 2005 exchange rate. Several Chinese exporters found themselves uncompetitive with the stronger currency and had to shut down their operations in China and relocate production to Vietnam, Bangladesh, or Africa.
Figure 2: China’s RMB Exchange Rate History (Source: Oanda.com)
By the same token, imports into China costing 33 percent less in 2015 than in 2005 means that some Chinese domestic production was displaced by imports.
In both cases, the appreciation of the yuan (RMB) has meant reduction of jobs in China, although this is consistent with the peaking of the Chinese labor force (partially as a consequence of the one-child policy). Indeed, several areas in China have labor shortages.
2. The yuan (RMB) has appreciated even more against other currencies
The PBoC fixes the RMB only against the US dollar. But in the last two years, this has meant that as the dollar has risen against most other currencies (such as the euro or emerging-country currencies such as the Brazilian real), the RMB has appreciated or strengthened even more, piggybacking on the dollar (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: The Yuan (Reluctantly) Piggybacking on the US Dollar
(Source: The Economist, May 30, 2015)
If one combines the RMB appreciation in Figure 2 (36 percent) with the dollar’s appreciation against most other currencies since 2013 (15 percent), the local currency cost of importing Chinese products may have risen by more than 50 percent since 2005 for many prospective buyers in a large swathe of nations from Europe to Brazil.
3. Chinese wages and costs have risen
On the east coast of China, where most of its manufacturing and economic activity takes place, wages have recently been rising at least 15 percent each year. Some jobs go unfilled. The one-child policy (reversed in 2015) has led to a plateauing of the labor force. Other costs, such as real estate, have also risen sharply. Chinese exporters are beginning to feel a squeeze between (i) rising costs and (ii) the falling RMB conversion value for the dollars or foreign currencies they earn.
So, why pick on China?
By massively appreciating their currency, the Chinese have succumbed to Western government pressure. While most economists aver that the yuan (RMB) is still undervalued, they agree that in 2015 it is not undervalued by much.
Indeed, if one were to search for a more egregious recent example, it would be the Japanese yen, which has been consciously devalued by the Shinzo Abe government by around a third since November 2012.
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