LONDON - Economic officials from the world's richest countries resumed their pressure on China to adopt a more flexible exchange rate and called Saturday for vigorous action against such threats to growth as high oil prices, protectionism and inflation.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven nations, meeting for the final time this year, singled out China in their closing statement as they warned about excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates.
"We expect that further flexible implementation of China's currency system would improve the functioning and stability of the global economy and the international monetary system," the G-7 said.
The statement was stronger than the group's communique after its September meeting, which welcomed China's decision in July to let its yuan currency trade more freely but stopped short of pressing for further reforms.
However, the communique still appeared to fall short of the wishes of some members of the G-7, which includes Britain, the United States, Japan, Italy, Germany, France and Canada.
China allowed the yuan, which had been pegged tightly to the dollar, to rise in value by 2.1 percent in July and said it would let the currency fluctuate by as much as 0.3 percent on a daily basis. However, during the past four months, it has risen by only an additional 0.3 percent, prompting calls from some leaders for a further revaluation.
Discussing the overall global economy, the G-7 leaders said growth remains solid, although slowed by high and volatile oil prices that have exacerbated other risks, including "rising protectionist sentiment, the possibility of increasing inflationary pressures and growing global imbalances."
