Value
For most of its early history, the RMB was pegged to the U.S. dollar at 2.46 yuan per USD (note: during the 1970s, it was appreciated until it reached 1.50 yuan per USD in 1980). When China's economy gradually opened in the 1980s, the RMB was devalued in order to improve the competitiveness of Chinese exports. Thus, the official USD to RMB exchange rate declined from 1.50 yuan in 1980 to 8.62 yuan by 1994 (lowest ever on the record). Improving current account balance during the latter half of the 1990s enabled the Chinese government to maintain a peg of 8.27 yuan per USD from 1997 to 2005.
On November 14, 2012, the yuan closed at a record low exchange rate of 6.2252 to the U.S. dollar. Chinese leadership has been raising the yuan to tame inflation, a step U.S. officials have pushed for years to help repair the massive trade deficit with China.
Read more about this topic: Renminbi
Famous quotes containing the word value:
“And those handmade presents that children often bring home from school: They have so much value! The value is that the child put whatever he or she could into making them. The way we parents respond to the giving of such gifts is very important. To the child the gift is really self, and they want so much for their selves to be acceptable, to be loved.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)