Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell said Saturday in Beijing that China's monetary policy is " excellent." Addressing an international seminar here, Mundell praised China's policy of keeping its currency's exchange rate stable.
"You shouldn't change that, as it is working well," he said.
The Columbia University economist, known as the ``father of the euro," was awarded the 1999 Nobel economics prize for his research into economic and monetary union.
He said that China is lucky to have received a great deal of foreign investment, adding that China's foreign exchange reserve is growing rapidly. He said that China is now in a very strong position, and should maintain that position.
"Despite the global economic slowdown, I think China will maintain its goal (of growth)," he said.
Dai Xianglong, governor of China's central bank, told the seminar that the stable monetary policy that China has pursued since late 1998 has proved to be successful.
Dai said that this year China will focus on accelerating the reform of state-owned enterprises to lift their credit rating and on improving the running of state-owned banks.
He said China will continue its modest monetary policy for the next five years, so as to fend off financial risks and maintain economic growth at around seven percent annually.
He ruled out devaluation of the RMB yuan as a policy option by saying that the interim goal of the central bank's monetary policy is to maintain the value of the currency, and, on this basis, secure the stable growth of the economy.
( March 18, 2002)
