From 1949 to 2005, China's foreign exchange system reform has gone through five stages. First, the "basic stability period of exchange rate", from 1949- 1980 to 65438+February, lasting 3 1 year; The second is the "dual exchange rate system", which lasted for three years from 198 1 year 1 month19841February; The third is "returning to the single exchange rate system", which lasted for 9 years from 1985 65438+ 10/993 65438+2 months; Fourthly, "RMB exchange rate system based on market supply and demand", from 1994 1 month to July 2005, lasted 1 1 year and a half; The fifth is "a managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand and adjusted with reference to a basket of currencies", from July 2005 to the present. As a price mechanism, exchange rate mechanism is not only an integral part of a country's macroeconomic policy, but also reflects the objective environmental changes of the whole international economy, trade and capital flow. In order to help you better understand and understand the significance of RMB exchange rate reform, this paper briefly reviews the evolution and changes of China's foreign exchange system:

Basic stable period of exchange rate. In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the exchange rate was mainly set and adjusted according to the relative price levels at home and abroad at that time. After 1953, it began to adjust with reference to the exchange rate of western countries and gradually separated from prices. At that time, under the international fixed exchange rate system centered on the dollar, the RMB exchange rate was pegged to the pound, and it was only adjusted when Britain announced the appreciation or depreciation of the pound. By the end of 1972, the RMB exchange rate was basically maintained at 1 USD to RMB 2.46. During the 20 years from 1953 to 1972, the exchange rate of RMB against the British pound was only adjusted once when 1 14.3% depreciated, from 1 to 6.893 RMB to 5.908. From 65438 to 0973, after the floating exchange rate was widely implemented in major western countries, China adopted the exchange rate system pegged to the currency basket in principle, and determined the exchange rate according to the change of the average exchange rate of the currency basket. During the period from 1949 to 1980, the RMB exchange rate was basically stable and it was one of the most stable currencies in the world at that time. It should be said that the exchange rate policy at that time was compatible with the planned economic system, and the policy of basically stable RMB was conducive to the internal accounting of foreign trade enterprises and the preparation and implementation of various plans at that time. So that for a period of time after the reform and opening-up, foreign trade is still under strict planned management and unified management, import and export are carried out according to the mandatory plan approved by the state, and the "export acquisition system" and "import distribution system" are implemented. That is, the source of export goods is purchased at the domestic planned price, and the domestic sales of imported goods are supplied at the domestic allocation price; The export of export commodities and the purchase of import commodities are priced according to the international market price. With the passage of time, this planning system has gradually divorced from the reality of import and export trade, and other domestic and foreign regulations have cut off the connection between domestic and foreign market prices, and exchange rate risks have also arisen. Although exchange rate fluctuations and domestic and international market prices have caused great losses to export enterprises, the national policy at that time was to subsidize exports by imports, which made enterprises rely heavily on the state to be fully responsible for their own profits and losses. Therefore, under the planned economy system, the exchange rate is only a tool for foreign trade. On the one hand, the double-standard foreign trade price system at home and abroad will incur risks; On the other hand, the situation that profits and losses are covered by the state makes enterprises lack risk awareness. With the advancement of the national economic system reform, this exchange rate system will inevitably be greatly impacted.

Dual exchange rate system. From 1979, in order to arouse the enthusiasm of enterprises to export, the state began to implement the foreign exchange retention system. Because there is a time lag between the foreign exchange quota held by enterprises and the actual production demand, and in the actual business activities of enterprises, the dual identity of enterprises as foreign exchange earners and foreign exchange users often occurs functional separation. So we started the foreign exchange swap business on 1980 and 10, established the foreign exchange swap market, and set up foreign exchange swap centers all over the country, forming the foreign exchange swap price based on the relationship between foreign exchange supply and demand in the foreign exchange swap market. In 1980s, with the opening of the door of reform and opening-up, the planned economy gradually transited to the market economy, and the problems caused by the overvaluation of RMB gradually appeared, and some foreign trade enterprises appeared the management dilemma of "exporting more and losing more". According to statistics, in the early 1980s, China's total import and export volume was only about tens of billions of dollars, and the persistent foreign trade deficit made the country face the situation of foreign exchange shortage. Therefore, after the reform of foreign trade system, the policy of "encouraging exports and appropriately restricting imports" was put forward, and two corresponding official exchange rates came into being. Since 198 1, there have been two official exchange rates for RMB: one is to keep the open quotation of RMB, which is mainly applicable to non-trade foreign exchange receipts and payments; Second, the internal settlement price of trade foreign exchange began to link the interests of enterprises with import and export business. Due to the implementation of the foreign exchange retention system and the internal settlement price of trade, exports have been stimulated to some extent and foreign exchange reserves have been increased. From 198 1 to 1983, China's foreign exchange reserves increased from $2.7 billion to $8.9 billion. The introduction of internal settlement price of trade foreign exchange is to meet the needs of encouraging exports and restricting imports after the reform of foreign trade system. Its pricing standard is 10% as profit on the basis of the national export exchange cost in previous years. Therefore, the effect of foreign trade export enterprises turning losses into profits is obvious. The difference between the internal settlement price of foreign exchange for trade and the listed exchange rate for non-trade is actually equivalent to a subsidy for foreign trade exports, so it does play a regulatory role in import and export. The dual exchange rate was born out of the coexistence and stalemate of the old and new systems, and played an active role as an "expedient measure" for the reform of foreign trade system at that time. However, with the gradual establishment of market economy, a series of domestic reforms, including price reform, have also lost their vitality. With the liberalization of product prices and the increase of export costs, the promotion of internal settlement prices of trade foreign exchange to exports is no longer obvious. Therefore, adjustment is inevitable.

Return to the single exchange rate system. From 1985 65438+ 10/0/,the state cancels the internal settlement price of trade and adopts a single exchange rate. Since 1985, China's economy has undergone profound changes, and the state's financial subsidies to state-owned enterprises have declined. By 1990, the export financial subsidy was cancelled. When the government gradually reduced its administrative intervention in import and export trade, the role of exchange rate in regulating export volume began to increase. During this period, the official exchange rate of RMB experienced three major depreciation adjustments: July 1986, February 1989 and June 165438+ 10/990. It is planned to stimulate exports through RMB depreciation. However, due to the low price elasticity of China's export commodities, the export volume has not been expanded proportionally by lowering the price, and the overall benefit of RMB exchange rate depreciation is not ideal. After the cancellation of the internal settlement price, there is actually a dual exchange rate in which the official quotation and the foreign exchange swap market coexist. The fundamental reason lies in the shortage of foreign exchange, the shortage of foreign exchange, and the "dislocation" of the allocation of foreign exchange resources between foreign exchange demanders and foreign exchange suppliers, which has caused the official quotation to be "valuable without market". The prosperity of foreign exchange swap market has become an important symbol of this period. 199 1 year, the domestic real interest rate and investment income are higher than those of developed countries. 1992, China's foreign capital inflow was1700 million US dollars, an increase of 50% over the previous year, indicating that the international community recognized China's comparative advantage. In this case, to accelerate the pace of reform and opening up, there is an urgent need for a deeper and broader reform of the foreign exchange management system.

RMB exchange rate system based on market supply and demand. 1 994 65438+1October1,China announced the reform of the foreign exchange system, and the official exchange rate of RMB merged with the market exchange rate. The foreign exchange open market exchange rate at the end of 0993 1 is converted into RMB 8.7 yuan as the RMB market exchange rate, and a single and managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand is implemented. "Managed" is mainly embodied by the bank settlement and sale system and the foreign exchange turnover position management system. Of course, the introduction of import and export verification system is also an important content. 1994 reform is a fundamental change in the foreign exchange management system, which has established an inter-bank foreign exchange market, and its stable operation has ensured the effective operation of the bank's foreign exchange settlement and sale system. 1996 continue to deepen the reform of the foreign exchange system. The deepest feeling of enterprises is that as long as they have valid certificates, they can buy foreign exchange at designated foreign exchange banks without planning approval. 1996165438+1On October 27th, the People's Bank of China officially sent a letter to the International Monetary Fund, announcing that RMB current account convertibility will be implemented from 1996 12 1, and RMB exchange rate formation will further move towards marketization. 1997 when the Asian financial crisis broke out, the China government assessed the situation and assumed the responsibility of stabilizing the value of RMB, which was well received internationally, but its own economic development was also affected to some extent, and the foreign exchange market was no exception. It should be said that the "floating" of RMB exchange rate is mainly reflected in the period from 1994 to 1997, and after 1997, "stable" pegged to the US dollar. Therefore, although exchange rate policy obeys the overall needs of monetary policy, the reversal effect of exchange rate policy is getting bigger and bigger, and the independence of monetary policy is getting weaker and weaker. In particular, with the allocation of RMB exchange rate to foreign exchange resources mainly expanding from trade to the coexistence of trade and capital flows, the difficulty of foreign exchange management and potential exchange rate risks are also increasing.

A managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand and adjusted with reference to a basket of currencies. On July 2nd, 2005, China further adjusted its exchange rate. It is no longer pegged to the dollar, but a managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand and referring to a basket of currencies. It is predicted that in the next few years, with the full opening of financial markets after China's entry into WTO, China's exchange rate system will be further deepened, macro-supervision will be strengthened, the market will play an increasingly important role in regulating foreign exchange demand, and the floating range of RMB exchange rate will be enlarged.

(Foreign Debt Information 2005- 1 1)