Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-06-Speech-3-321"
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"en.20060906.23.3-321"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what would happen if we were unable to speak today about the issue of China?
As was mentioned previously, the forthcoming summit between the EU and China takes places on 9 September, with the Prime Minister, with Foreign Ministers, and with Ministers for Reform, Planning and Trade. On 12 September, also in Helsinki, there will be a high-level Chinese-European economic forum. From the perspective of the world economy there are other important dates approaching, namely a new distribution of votes within the International Monetary Fund in favour of China and possibly to the disadvantage of Europe, and, at the end of September, new groupings and alliances will need to be formed in the Doha round in Australia.
As the draftsman of the opinion on this issue in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, I will concentrate on economic and monetary policy perspectives. In 2005 the Chinese trade surplus was USD 102 billion; in 2006 it will be even greater, and by the end of 2006 China will have more than 1 000 billion USD in its currency reserves. Demands are being made from many quarters for a rapid change in the exchange rate, and in the medium term China prepared to listen to these demands. In view of the close interconnection of the financial markets, however, in my opinion I have argued in favour of a cautious change, because radical and swift measures could lead to incalculable consequences for the financial markets.
The International Monetary Fund must monitor such developments and take timely action where necessary. At the IMF’s forthcoming annual meeting, China is due to receive more weight in the Fund, and in this development it is getting strong support from the United States. One might ask the question why the USA, with its enormous budget deficit, is so keen to support China. Perhaps this is because China, as was noted previously, with its exchange rate policy and its high currency reserves, now has a say in matters affecting the US dollar.
How is this perceived in the Member States of the European Union, and what do the officials in the ECOFIN council have to say about this? The European Union is the most important trading partner for China, China is the second most important trading partner for the European Union. We therefore owe respect to the Chinese for the way in which they have partly fulfilled, and are trying to fulfil, the commitments they made when they joined the WTO, although there is still considerable room for improvement on copyright protection and especially on credit issues. The further opening of the banking and insurance markets, and the advances in the search for common standards, are visible steps forward.
At the end of September it is hoped that talks in Australia will breathe new life into the Doha round. Here too the USA would be glad to see an increased Chinese influence. Which people will the European Union choose to accompany this process, in order to give the Chinese the feeling that Europe can work in partnership with China in developing common strategies?"@en1
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