China's Central Bank Rejects Claims Yuan Is Undervalued

China's central bank said Thursday it has no need or intention to devalue the yuan to gain a trade edge, rejecting claims that the currency is undervalued.

In a policy paper, the People's Bank of China said Beijing has never engaged in competitive devaluation to boost exports, attributing the country's trade strength to industrial competitiveness rather than foreign-exchange tactics.

The central bank dismissed claims of yuan undervaluation as "misconceived," arguing that past periods of yuan appreciation hadn't hurt trade, nor had periods of weakness increased China's share of global exports.

Daily yuan trading volume has topped $800 billion, out of $10 trillion globally, the PBOC said. It argued that such volumes leave central banks unable to manipulate exchange rates or alter their long-term trends.

Trade has also become less sensitive to exchange rates, with roughly 30% of China's trade now settled in yuan, it said.

The paper comes amid growing international criticism of China's expanding trade surplus and surging industrial exports. Major trading partners, including the U.S. and the European Union, and international bodies such as the IMF, have increasingly cited a weak yuan and industrial overcapacity as drivers of China's record surplus. Those concerns have fueled tariff threats and calls for Beijing to let the yuan appreciate.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 08, 2026 07:25 ET (11:25 GMT)