Economic authorities have said that there is no basis for the persistent depreciation of the RMB, due to its stable rate against a basket of currencies. They believe that the RMB will become more marketized with its accelerating internationalization.

Data from the China Foreign Exchange Trading System showed that the central parity rate of the RMB weakened 31 basis points to 6.7736 against the USD on Oct. 27. At a pres conference held several days earlier, Wang Chunying, spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, attributed this kind of shift to the rising expectations of interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Though the RMB is depreciating against the USD, it is appreciating against a basket of currencies, Wang added.

Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, stressed that China is leading economic growth at a rate between 6.5 and 7 percent. Therefore, the RMB's exchange rate will be generally stable, and there is no basis for persistent depreciation. In addition, the RMB was officially included in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket on Oct. 1. With the accelerating internationalization of the currency, fluctuation within a certain range might be the new normal.