Commitments by China and other major economies over the weekend have lowered the threat of currency depreciations that could fuel global market turmoil, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Tuesday.
Mr. Lew, who spent the last several days in talks with top Chinese officials in Shanghai and Beijing, said the government has given the clearest signal yet it won’t engineer a major devaluation of the yuan as the world’s second-largest economy struggles to manage a slowdown in output and an overhaul of its growth policies.
The risk of a devaluation was “greatly, greatly reduced” by the currency policy commitments made by the Group of 20 largest economies in Shanghai.
After meetings with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and other senior economic officials in Beijing Sunday and Monday, Mr. Lew said he was encouraged by fresh vows to stick to the country’s plan to liberalize China’s economy and avoid relying on a cheap exchange rate to goose exports.
