China banking officials call for freer RMB

China could be heading towards a free-floating currency after a group of economists – including officials from the central bank – suggested the time was ripe for such a move. The comments were made in a report published on Saturday by the China Finance 40 Forum, whose members include Huang Yiping, a member of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy committee, the South China Morning Post reports. “If policymakers have the willingness and resolution [to reform the yuan], I think they can do it now,” Huang was quoted as saying in a statement released on social media after the report’s release. “Now the timing is good.” Huang, who co-authored the report, suggested the government had a window of opportunity to set the yuan’s exchange rate free. “In the past, China’s currency authorities have found themselves fighting either an overwhelming yuan appreciation expectation or a deprecation anticipation,” he said.