RMB appreciation "not good recipe": Vice Commerce Minister

A senior Chinese trade official says revaluing the Renminbi is not a good recipe for solving the US-China trade deficit. During his visit to Washington, Vice Commerce Minister Zhong Shan called on both sides to appropriately handle economic and trade frictions.

Zhong Shan's visit comes amid growing US complaints about China's foreign exchange policy.

Last week, a group of US senators proposed legislation to press China to appreciate its currency, saying the yuan is undervalued.

But Zhong Shan told the US Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday it's not the way to fix the trade gap and in fact, could upset the world economy.

During his visit to Washington, Vice Commerce Minister Zhong Shan called  on both sides to appropriately handle economic and trade frictions.

He explained the economic structures of the two countries are highly complementary. And the Renminbi exchange rate is not the root cause of the American trade deficit nor its job woes.

The Vice Commerce Minister stressed the necessity of keeping reasonable stability for both the yuan and the dollar. He says it's in nobody's interest to see big ups in the renminbi or big downs in the dollar.

Zhong Shan said China has been working to narrow the trade imbalance. He called on the US to do its part, such as easing export controls against China. He also advocated facilitating two-way investment and opposing protectionism.

Zhong acknowledged that given the complexity of economic and trade cooperation, frictions are inevitable. But he expressed confidence that a long-term approach and open lines of communication can help solve the problems.