U.S. President George W. Bush (C) and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson (R) welcome Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex before a meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue in Washington, May 24, 2007. [Reuters]

SHANGHAI: The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham) on Friday urged the US government to stop putting pressure on China to revalue the renminbi.

The US-China trade balance issue could not be addressed by forcing Chinese currency revaluation, said a White Paper presented by AmCham to the 2007 China Trends Conference in Shanghai.

China's steady reform of its banking and overall financial infrastructure is considered key to the full integration of China's currency globally, said the paper.

The full global integration of China's financial sector and the enforcement of protection of intellectual property rights are also believed to be crucial factors contributing to the long-term and sustainable growth of the two countries' economies, the chamber noted.

The chamber believes that the large and growing US trade deficit with China should not serve as the definite measure of US-China trade.

AmCham members agreed that effective implementation of existing laws and regulations, and the skillful and targeted use of WTO dispute mechanism are the best means of dealing with shortcomings in the commercial relationship between the two countries.

The paper pointed to the important progress China has made in reforming its capital market.

It noted that the deepening of the reforms to further open the capital market in China would allow for the removal of capital controls and enable China to adopt a market-driven, flexible rate regime.

AmCham supports current efforts under the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) to encourage the greater participation of US financial sector firms, which is an indispensable part of helping China build a stronger financial service sector.

In the past year, IPR enforcement was a key concern of AmCham members. The White Paper shows that most US companies in China appreciate China's sustained efforts in IPR protection. AmCham urges both sides to take the opportunities presented by the SED and the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade later this year to map out efforts to beef up China's IPR enforcement.

AmCham also advised the US government to offer overall coordination and support for US companies' efforts to capture more opportunities in China.

"China's rapidly expanding economy and liberalizing markets have revolutionized international business," said an AmCham spokesman. "Businesspeople from all corners are looking to take advantage of the ever-growing number of opportunities here."