China, which for the first time joined a meeting of top
officials from the Group of Seven countries this week, has no
immediate plans to enter the rich nations' club, its finance
minister said on Saturday.
"We have no immediate plans to join the G7," Finance Minister
Jin Renqing told a small group of Chinese reporters.
"We are here to promote mutual understanding, our ability to
participate in the world's economic affairs and our interests," he
said, adding that China was interested in continuing the high-level
dialogue.
Jin added that Beijing attended the G7 gathering because of its
rising economic power, a comment that appeared aimed at dispelling
speculation China was invited only because Western powers wanted to
lecture it on currency matters.
During meetings in Washington, China reiterated its pledge to
move toward a more flexible currency but gave no timetable for
relinquishing the yuan's tight peg to the U.S. dollar.
Beijing holds the yuan at about 8.28 to the dollar, a policy
that U.S. manufacturers and labor groups have complained gives
Chinese producers an unfair edge.
Jin and central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan attended a dinner
with their counterparts from the G7 countries on Friday, discussing
topics including oil prices, the economic outlook and
currencies.
Top officials from the elite economic club also expressed
concern that China may be consuming too many raw materials as it
heavily invests in infrastructure to spur economic growth. China
and the United States are the world's top oil consumers.
In comments on Friday, Zhou said fast-growing China, the world's
most populous nation and the seventh-largest economy, was still a
developing country and would keep that in mind when talking with G7
countries.
"We have long said that we will represent not only ours, but
other developing countries' interests," Zhou said.
(China Daily October 3, 2004)