1. At the initial stage of the transition to a market economy (1979- 1993), the first stage was the coexistence of RMB internal settlement price and official exchange rate (198 1 ~ 1984). Before the reform, the RMB exchange rate was lower than the export cost for a long time, but higher than the ratio of domestic and international consumer prices. In order to expand exports, RMB needs to depreciate, but RMB depreciation is not good for non-trade foreign exchange income. Considering the needs of both trade and non-trade, in August19811,the government decided to implement the internal settlement exchange rate of trade outside the official exchange rate, that is, add a certain profit to the national average export exchange cost, which is obviously lower than the official exchange rate. The second stage is to cancel the internal settlement exchange rate and enter the period of coexistence of official exchange rate and foreign exchange swap market exchange rate (1985 ~ 1993). The dual exchange rate system has obviously mobilized the enthusiasm of export enterprises, and the national foreign exchange reserves have also increased. However, there are obvious problems in this arrangement: First, from the perspective of foreign relations, the IMF regards the dual exchange rate as a government subsidy for exports, and developed countries threaten to levy a subsidy tax on China's exports. Second, from the domestic point of view, the dual exchange rate has caused confusion in foreign exchange management, and it cannot effectively curb imports when the foreign trade department is still eating the same pot. Therefore, the internal settlement price was cancelled from 1985 65438+ 10 1, and the RMB returned to a single exchange rate. In order to cooperate with the reform of foreign trade and the implementation of contract system, China has gradually abolished financial subsidies, increased the proportion of foreign exchange retention from 1988, generally established foreign exchange adjustment centers, and liberalized the adjustment of market exchange rates, thus forming a situation in which official exchange rates and market exchange rates coexist. 2. The first stage of socialist market economy (1994 to present) is the period of exchange rate consolidation and managed floating exchange rate system (1994 ~ July 2005). The overall goal of the national foreign exchange system reform from 65438 to 0994 is to "reform the foreign exchange management system, establish a single and managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand, unify and standardize the foreign exchange market, and gradually make RMB a convertible currency". Specific measures include, first, a single and managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand. 1994 65438+ 10/month 1, the official RMB exchange rate and foreign exchange swap price will be merged. Second, implement the system of bank settlement and sale of foreign exchange, cancel the retention and settlement of foreign exchange. Third, establish a unified and standardized inter-bank foreign exchange trading market in China. The central bank manages the RMB exchange rate by participating in this market transaction, and the exchange rate announced by RMB is the exchange rate formed by this market. 1996 12 China has realized the convertibility of RMB under current account, which is an important step to realize the free convertibility of RMB. After 1994, China implemented a managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand, but the nominal exchange rate of RMB against the US dollar remained relatively stable except for a slight appreciation from 1994 to 1995. After the Asian financial crisis, the China government further narrowed the floating range of RMB exchange rate because the decoupling of RMB from the US dollar may lead to RMB appreciation, which is not conducive to export growth. During the period of 1999, the IMF also changed the classification of China's exchange rate system from "managed floating" to "fixed peg system pegged to a single currency". The second stage is to refer to the floating exchange rate system of a basket of currencies (July 2, 20051up to now). The pegged exchange rate system has successfully maintained the stability of RMB exchange rate level and effectively promoted the development of foreign trade and investment. At the same time, it also brings many problems, which are highlighted as follows: First, the imbalance of foreign trade has intensified. Since1994 (except1998), China has maintained the pattern of double surplus in international payments, especially after entering the 20th century, the scale of double surplus continued to expand, and the current account surplus in 2004 reached 4.2% of the GDP of that year. Second, the double surplus has caused the rapid increase of China's foreign exchange reserves and brought the pressure of currency write-off, and the independence of monetary policy has been challenged. Third, the extensive export growth mode makes the technical content of China's export products low, and the international competitiveness of export enterprises is not strong. Some export products consume a lot of resources and energy, which seriously damages the environment and is not conducive to the implementation of the sustainable development strategy.