So where did the currency wars go? The renminbi and yen are at their weakest against the dollar since 2008 and 1990, respectively. The Chinese current account surplus, properly measured, is probably at or approaching a record high. The White House is obsessed with boosting US manufacturing and what it regards as unfair competition from China. Yet Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met on Wednesday and exchange rates were barely, if at all, on the agenda. While this is a lull, it is highly unlikely to be a permanent peace. The factors that created battles over currency misalignments have not gone away. China in particular is threatening to return to the sort of mercantilist behaviour that started protracted tensions 20 years ago.
那么,匯率戰去哪兒了?人民幣和日元對美元的匯率分別處于自2008年和1990年以來的最低水平。按照恰當的衡量方法,中國的經常賬戶盈余很可能處于——或接近——創紀錄高位。白宮念念不忘提振美國制造業,并糾結于它眼中來自中國的不公平競爭。然而,美國總統喬?拜登(Joe Biden)與中國國家主席習近平周三會晤時,匯率問題幾乎不在議程上。