APEC Ministers Credit China With Fueling Recovery

ELAINE KURTENBACH

SINGAPORE (AP) — China won credit Thursday for the mix of stimulus spending and stable finances that has helped rekindle a global recovery, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other leaders downplaying the issue of the weak Chinese currency.

Asia-Pacific finance ministers pledged to embrace more flexible exchange rates — reflecting persisting concern that restrictions on the Chinese currency that keep it tied to the weakening U.S. dollar are hurting exporters in other countries.

But the focus, the officials said, was more on crafting stable growth strategies that will enable them to eventually scale back stimulus spending as unemployment falls and business investment recovers.

"Right now, the challenge is growth. First growth: Let's make sure we have business confidence restored, private investment sustaining again, unemployment coming down, the financial sectors definitively repaired," Geithner said.

"The downside risk of discontinuing the stimulus is substantial," he said.

Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu concurred. "The recovery is fragile and everybody agrees. How to sustain it means that you can't exit too quickly," she said.