Blind men and the elephant in the room of global finance

Barely had Chinese policymakers managed to convince global investors of the long-term value of the renminbi to check unjustified devaluation, than the United States called on China to allow its currency to appreciate further to support its economic rebalancing.

The US Treasury's latest semi-annual report on economic and currency policies of major trade partners not only recognized the fact that the Chinese currency had appreciated against the greenback nearly 30 percent over the past five years. It also noted that, against market expectations of a much deeper fall, data suggests Beijing "sold a significant amount of reserves in August to stem the RMB decline."

Yet, in spite of these facts, the report has come to the strange conclusion that the renminbi remains below its "appropriate medium-term valuation".