High diplomacy has yuan problem in hand

The intensifying US pressure on China to revalue the yuan is more about job creation in the US than its merchandise trade deficit with China.

Despite signs of an economic recovery, the US unemployment rate continues to hover around 10 percent. Many economists have professed that the driving force of a sustainable recovery must come from manufacturing. Understandably, job creation has become a top priority of US President Barack Obama's administration in combating the economic woes resulting from the fallout of the credit crisis.

Before the crisis broke out in 2008, the US manufacturing sector was enjoying a revival accompanied by an increase in merchandise exports. This had led to a strong demand for skilled workers by manufacturers in various industries across the country.