美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)周一呼吁中国国家主席胡锦涛允许人民币升值、以及支持对伊朗的制裁。
奥巴马与胡锦涛在华盛顿核安全峰会的间隙进行了一个半小时的会谈后强调，双方正在加强合作。在此之前的一段时期，美中关系看似陷入了僵局。
在美国对台军售及奥巴马会晤达赖喇嘛引发争议之后，此次会晤能否进行，一度让人怀疑。
华盛顿战略与国际问题研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies)的迈克尔•格林(Michael Green)表示：“对奥巴马政府来说，胡锦涛决定出席会议，本身就是一个很大的成功。”
美国官员们表示，在对奥巴马而言高度政治性的两个议题——伊朗以及人民币被“低估”——上，中国方面也变得更愿意做出回应。许多美国官员认为，人民币被低估，使得美国生产商丧失了竞争力。
在奥胡会谈开始时，中国方面选择先讨论联合国对伊朗的制裁问题，随后显示出可能正在为人民币升值做准备。
“总统重申了他的观点，就是中国迈向一个更为市场化的汇率机制，对全球经济持续、均衡复苏非常重要，”奥巴马政府首席亚洲事务顾问杰夫•巴德(Jeff Bader)表示。他补充道，奥巴马还就中国在市场准入方面的壁垒“表达了关切”。
巴德说：“两位总统同意，双方代表团应当在纽约就一项(联合国)制裁伊朗决议展开合作，这正是我们在做的。”
在周一的核安全峰会上，乌克兰宣布，将在2012年前销毁境内所有高浓缩铀。峰会周二将继续进行，目标是在2013年前确保所有此类危险的核材料无法落入恐怖分子手中。
在有关人民币汇率的争议中，来自中国的的最新数据为北京方面的论点提供了新鲜证据。中国央行昨日表示，截至一季度末，中国外汇储备增加了479亿美元，至24470亿美元，增值大大少于去年第四季度1265亿美元的增值。
分析师表示，中国外汇储备增长放缓的主要原因是，第一季度贸易顺差同比下降了77%，至145亿美元。
中国在3月份录得72亿美元贸易逆差，这是六年来的头一次。中国商务部表示，事实证明，汇率并非决定贸易流动的主要因素。
瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)首席中国经济学家陶冬(Dong Tao)表示：“这些数字肯定会对北京方面的论点形成支持。但不管是单月出现逆差，还是外储增长减缓，美方都将继续施加压力，因为双方的争论主要是由美国国会的政治考虑驱动的。”
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001032166
President Barack Obama on Monday pushed President Hu Jintao of China to allow the renminbi to appreciate and to back sanctions on Iran.
After an hour-and-a-half-long meeting on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit Mr Obama is hosting, the two sides emphasised their increasing co-operation after a period when Washington and Beijing appeared to be at loggerheads.
The meeting had been in doubt after disputes this year over Taiwan and the Dalai Lama.
“The fact that Hu Jintao decided to come is in itself quite a success for the administration,” said Michael Green at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
US officials say China has also become more responsive on two highly charged political issues for Mr Obama – Iran and the alleged undervaluation of the renminbi, which many US officials say leaves US producers unable to compete.
Having decided to begin discussions on United Nations sanctions against Iran, China has signalled it may be preparing for a currency appreciation.
“The president reaffirmed his view that it is important for a sustained and balanced global economic recovery that China move toward a more market-oriented exchange rate,” said Jeff Bader, Mr Obama’s top White House adviser on Asia. He added that Mr Obama also “noted his concern” over market access barriers in China.
“The two presidents agreed that the two delegations should work on a [UN] sanctions resolution in New York, and that’s what we’re doing,” said Mr Bader.
Monday’s summit also saw a declaration by Ukraine that it would rid itself of all highly enriched uranium on its territory by 2012. The summit, which continues on Tuesday, is intended to put all such dangerous nuclear materials out of the reach of terrorists by 2013.
China was provided with fresh evidence in the debate over the renminbi’s valuation by Monday’s data on foreign exchange reserves, which rose by $47.9bn to $2,447bn by the end of the first quarter, compared with a $126.5bn rise in the fourth quarter of 2009, the Chinese central bank said on Monday.
Analysts said the moderation in the reserves growth was mostly due to a 77 per cent drop in China’s trade surplus in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier to $14.5bn.
China recorded a trade deficit of $7.2bn in March, its first in six years, which the country’s Ministry of Commerce said proved the exchange rate was not the main factor determining trade flows.
“This will certainly help Beijing’s argument but, regardless of the monthly deficit and slowing reserves, the US will keep up the pressure because a lot of the debate is motivated by political considerations on Capitol Hill,” said Dong Tao, chief China economist at Credit Suisse.
Beijing appears to be preparing for an imminent adjustment to its exchange rate mechanism. Senior officials and economists suggest it may widen the daily trading band and resume the gradual managed appreciation in the renminbi that was halted in July 2008 in response to the global financial crisis.
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