China, EU, agree to prevent major currency swings

China and the EU agreed to cooperate to prevent major exchange rate fluctuations at an ongoing EU-China summit, the Financial Times reported. China's central bank said both sides would take "comprehensive measures" to avoid big swings in currency movements, improve structural economic adjustments and contribute to an orderly adjustment of global imbalances. No further details were given. The central bank's statement was issued after its governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, met with the president of the European Central bank, the European monetary affairs commissioner and the chairman of the eurozone finance ministers' group. The Europeans want China to let the yuan appreciate more quickly and to reduce its trade surplus with the EU. The Chinese have remained committed to their strategy of allowing the yuan to appreciate gradually. European leaders are now in Beijing hoping to start a long-term economic dialog modeled after the twice-yearly Strategic Economic Dialog between the US and China that began in 2006.