China not to accept another Plaza Accord, says ambassador

WASHINGTON - Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said here on Thursday that China would not accept a Plaza Accord imposed on it.

He made the remarks while addressing a working lunch of roundtable discussion that focused on the topic of "Next Steps" at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank.

"On what to do next, for China it is very clear," Cui said. "I wish to advise people to give up the illusion that another Plaza Accord could be imposed on China. They should give up the illusion that China will ever give in to intimidation, coercion or groundless accusation."

"But at the same time, China is always ready to engage in serious, substantive and pragmatic negotiations and consultations to address the economic and trade issues on the basis of mutual respect and a balanced approach to resolve the concerns of both sides," he said, speaking of China-U.S. relations.

"This has to be a process of goodwill for goodwill and good faith for good faith," noted the Chinese diplomat. "If we can reach an agreement through this approach, I don't think the current economic and trade issues would be that difficult."

The Plaza Accord was signed between the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, West Germany and Japan in 1985 to spearhead efforts to weaken the dollar in order to correct U.S. trade imbalances.