China new currency policy

China's decision to widen its currency's trading band is a "useful step" but Beijing must still move more quickly to having the market set the currency's value.
Alan Holmer, the Treasury's special envoy for China, said he would keep pressing the case for greater yuan flexibility at high-level economic talks between U.S. and Chinese officials next week in Washington.
Beijing on Friday announced that beginning on Monday it would allow the yuan to rise or fall by 0.5 percent against the dollar each day, compared to a 0.3 percent margin previously. On most days, the yuan ranges less than 0.15 percent from its dollar midpoint.
The move did little to impress members of Congress, who have been threatening trade restrictions on China unless its yuan trades more freely. Many lawmakers believe that China's artificially low currency value makes American manufacturers unable to compete with a rising flood of cheap imported Chinese consumer goods.
The yuan's value will be one of several topics to be discussed next week in the "strategic economic dialogue" between top U.S. and Chinese officials. Some of the Chinese delegation are expected to meet with key members of Congress.
The meetings also cover topics such as intellectual property rights and efforts to shift the Chinese economy from one primarily focused on exports to a model that emphasizes increased domestic consumption and encourages Chinese citizens to decrease their high savings rates.