TIANJIN, June 25: Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki told his Chinese counterpart Jin Renqing that quick and decisive reforms of its yuan currency were needed and that yuan policy needed more flexibility.

China is under intense pressure from its trading partners to make the yuan’s peg to the dollar more flexible, which Beijing keeps in a narrow range around 8.28 to the dollar.

“In order to have more economic policy options given the growing Chinese economy its currency regime needs flexibility,” Tanigaki told reporters after the first bilateral meeting between finance chiefs of the two countries in more than four years.

Since a meeting with US Treasury Secretary John Snow in London earlier this month, Tanigaki has turned up the rhetoric on currency reform in China and has started to use the word “decisive” to describe the change he would like to see.

“In terms of timing, it should be somewhat quick given movements in China’s money supply. In terms of content of the reform, China needs decisive action which will have a significant effect,” Tanigaki was quoted by a Japanese Finance Ministry as telling Jin.

But Tanigaki stressed that it was up to the Chinese authorities to decide how to reform the yuan. Tanigaki added that Jin told him China would make its own judgment on yuan reform, but he declined to give further details of Jin’s response.—Reuters