Yuan strengthens beyond 6.9, reflecting market forces economist

The Chinese yuan strengthened past the psychologically important 6.90-per-dollar level in intraday trading on Feb 12, both onshore and offshore. Guan Tao, global chief economist of BOCI China, told ChinaPerspective that the recent appreciation reflects fundamentals and market forces, rather than a policy choice. "Renminbi internationalization cannot rely on appreciation to drive it," he stressed, noting that other economies' experiences and lessons have repeatedly shown the risks of trying to lift a currency's global role by promoting exchange rate gains.