G7 calls for stronger yuan, controls on state funds

Officials at the meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized countries in Washington pressured China allow the yuan to appreciate, the Wall Street Journal reported. Finance officials from the G7 nations – the US, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, France and Britain – said that China's growing current-account surplus showed that "accelerated appreciation" of the yuan was due. The meeting also looked into identifying "best practices" for sovereign wealth funds that have more than US$2 trillion in assets – which includes one controlled by China. The group mooted guidelines for risk management, transparency and accountability for such funds. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expressed concern over the size and rapid proliferation of sovereign funds, and that they may have agendas beyond "commercial motives."