Alexander Swoboda, professor of international economics at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Switzerland and former IMF senior policy advisor, said China should resist external pressure for currency revaluation.

He took the opportunity at the International Finance Forum on Thursday to say that the current pace of reform of the exchange rate scheme should be maintained because the banking sector and securities market are not prepared to shoulder a floating exchange rate.

A recent IMF report suggested China should widen the range of variability in its currency's exchange rate. There has also been pressure from some countries for revaluation of the yuan.
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If China took a hasty move now, it would cause instability for the economy, said Nobel laureate Robert Mundell, a professor of economics at Columbia University.

Neil Hughes, advisor to the World Bank, said that China should not be blamed for the big US trade deficit, which has instead been a longtime characteristic of its economy.

The central bank recently confirmed that it would continue to take a "gradual and safe" approach to loosening the yuan-dollar peg.

(China Daily November 12, 2004)