Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Tuesday said that China's currency remains undervalued.
U.S. and Chinese officials will discuss economic issues at an annual Strategic and Economic dialogue meeting in Beijing next week. In a preview of the talks at the U.S.-China Business Council, Lew said progress on bilateral issues had been "mixed" over the past year.
He said China seemed to follow a path of "two steps forward and part of a step back" on the exchange rate. Although the yuan has appreciated by 14% since 2010, it "still needs to appreciate more, it is undervalued," Lew said. There are concerns that China is holding down the value of its currency to give it an advantage over U.S. exporters. Lew said there was "pretty clear" evidence that China was intervening to weaken the yuan. He called for China to be more transparent about its exchange rate policy.
