From the Readers

Even friends can say 'no'

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-09 07:53

I am an American and I love my country but I also have great affection for China, where I used to teach English in the 1980s and where I was always treated well by the people. Because of my feeling for the Chinese people I hope they and their government are cautious as well as cooperative at the discussions with the West on the yuan revaluation issue.

Washington may argue that Beijing enjoys an "unfair" trade advantage because of an undervalued yuan, but "unfairness", it seems, is like beauty: It's in the eye of the beholder.

I suspect, based upon my limited knowledge of the Chinese mindset, that Beijing will allow some change in the yuan because Chinese culture sets a high value on getting along with neighbors. Trade with the West has been enormously profitable for the Chinese, after all. But in the long run, giving in to foreign pressure completely would serve neither China's nor America's purpose. There's a useful expression in English: "Sometimes friends tell friends no." President Hu Jintao may want to keep that thought at the back of his mind when he goes to Washington next week.

Lucius Lomax,via e-mail

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(China Daily 04/09/2010 page9)