Economists and government sources said the need to cut China's huge balance of payments surplus to fend off US pressure for a stronger yuan was likely to be high on the agenda as the Central Economic Work Conference began Tuesday, Reuters reported. The closed door meeting, attended by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao sets the course of policy for 2006. US lawmakers said they may revive more than a dozen bills threatening China with trade tariffs after the US Treasury Department declined to label the nation a currency manipulator, Bloomberg reported. The yuan's total appreciation against the dollar since July is only 0.38%, prompting claims it is being held down, while China's current account surplus with the US rose nine-fold in the first half of 2005 from a year earlier.
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