New Program - National Committee on United States-China Relations

The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Committee</strong> on United States-China Relations
71 West 23rd Street, 19th Floor
<strong>New</strong> York, NY 10010-4102
The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Committee</strong> on
United States-China Relations
USTR Robert Zoellick Gives Keynote at
Annual Meeting, continued from page 2
loans, is not destabilizing the
Chinese economy and that others’
concern over inflation is “somewhat
overstated.” Added Malpass: “My
expectation is that there will
continue to be massive nonperforming
loans, and that the
system will continue to be stable.”
On China’s pegged exchange
rate, he suggested that changing the
yuan/dollar exchange rate would
pose difficulties for both the United
States and China – to a degree that
neither side will actually materially
change the exchange rate.
He applauded China’s recent
efforts that allow foreign banks,
foreign investment banks, and
other types of institutions to do
business directly in China. Such
liberalization in the financial system
encourages China’s private sector to
flourish, as it can be used to bypass
the state-owned banking system.
Malpass concluded his remarks
with a review of where he thought
current trends were heading: “Fast
GDP growth, higher interest rates,
strong non-urban consumption
growth, financial market
innovation, liberalization of capital
outflows, and more regulatory
constraints on fixed investment. I
expect the currency to remain
relatively stable and trade tensions
to increase a bit as the U.S.
continues to run a large bilateral
trade deficit with China.”
Following the panelists’
remarks, John L. Holden, <strong>National</strong>
<strong>Committee</strong> president, moderated a
lively discussion that engaged all
three panelists and the audience. ■
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