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UPDATE 1-China says G20 imbalance target curbs its growth

Published 04/12/2011, 01:18 AM
Updated 04/12/2011, 01:24 AM

* China Vice Finmin says U.S. trying to contain China

* Says euro zone debt crisis could get worse

* Says Fed easing adds inflationary pressure for China (Add details, quotes, background)

BEIJING, April 12 (Reuters) - A U.S.-proposed target to limit countries' current account imbalances is a "political tool" aimed at containing China's economic growth, China Vice Finance Minister Li Yong said on Tuesday.

In what is China's fiercest rebuttal so far to the U.S. proposal to limit countries' current account deficits or surpluses to below 4 percent of gross domestic product, Li said such curbs overlook the "right" of nations to develop and grow.

The remarks underscore the difficulties that finance ministers from the Group of 20 (G20) nations face when they meet on April 15 to discuss how to rebalance the global economy, among other issues, on the sidelines of IMF meetings.

"It is another political tool, along with the exchange rate issue, of the United States and developed countries to contain China's economic development," Li wrote in an article published on the ministry's website.

"The external imbalance is a sensitive issue regarding the rights of China and other emerging economies to develop and grow," Li said.

China has opposed the idea of targeting countries' current account imbalances ever since it was suggested by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as a measure to use to rebalance the world economy.

Analysts say while China is amenable to importing more to help rebalancing efforts, it does not want to be assessed on its huge current account surplus because that includes interest payments on nearly $3 trillion of foreign reserves accumulated over the years.

Instead, China prefers to be assessed on its trade surplus, which has been narrowing as it imports more.

At a G20 meeting in Paris earlier this year, Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren said the G20 should assess distortions in the economy by measuring trade rather than current account balances, and also rejected using real exchange rates and currency reserves as measures.

That left China as a major impediment to a G20 deal, and cast doubts over the group's ability to agree to a set of guidelines to improve the world economy. [ID:nLDE71H0AV]

Li on Tuesday sought to draw attention away from China, however.

Reiterating China's long-standing assertion that the United States has a hand in much of the world's economic woes, Li said super-loose monetary policies in the United States and elsewhere were fuelling inflation.

He also said the European debt crisis could worsen by spreading from the peripheral euro zone region.

He said loans from the International Monetary Fund and European Union to struggling euro zone countries do not address "underlying structural problems", among which is the dearth of a unified fiscal policy in the euro zone.

"Austerity measures that are being imposed may worsen the economic and debt conditions in the countries," Li said. "The euro debt crisis may continue to spread and deteriorate."

As such, Li said he expected the U.S. dollar and euro to weaken. That will be a headache for China since its $2.85 trillion foreign reserves are primarily invested in the two currencies. (Reporting by Zhou Xin and Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Ken Wills)

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