N環球 
PBOC rejects yuan manipulation claims as EU trade chief lands in Beijing
China's central bank issued a lengthy statement on Thursday denying it keeps the yuan artificially weak; EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic arrived in Beijing for two days of talks on the trade deficit.
Why it matters
As EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic visits Beijing on October 8-9 for talks on the EU-China trade deficit, the People's Bank of China issued a lengthy policy statement on Thursday pushing back against foreign criticism of its exchange-rate policy.
"China neither needs nor intends to obtain a trade-competitive advantage through exchange-rate depreciation, and has never engaged in competitive currency depreciation," the central bank said, according to Reuters.
Full report
The PBOC argued that China's trade strength stems from the global competitiveness of its industries, and that countries with large trade surpluses have historically been those with strong manufacturing sectors. Blaming other nations' exchange rates for declining industrial competitiveness and weak fiscal discipline, it said, amounts to evading responsibility for one's own adjustments.
Context: China posted a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, about 6% of GDP; the EU's goods trade deficit with China was around 360 billion euros in 2025. Brussels wants a stronger yuan to curb China's export surge and worries about Chinese curbs on rare earths and other critical minerals.
China has reportedly rejected an EU request for voluntary curbs on Chinese hybrid car exports; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday that the bloc would deploy "all tools" at its disposal to rebalance the trade relationship if talks fail.
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