China vows to float currency, but shows no urgency in doing so.

In October, top economic officials from China reiterated plans to continue to move toward a more flexible exchange rate for its currency, the yuan, but offered no sense about how quickly it intends to make the necessary changes. In a speech on Oct. 3, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China H Ruogu responded to a question regarding the time frame. "How long will it take? I don't know," he said. "I've said many times, because China has an 8,000-year history, a decade is only a short period."

Since 1994, China "has pegged the yuan at 8.28 to the dollar. U.S. manufacturers and their supporters in Congress have criticized the peg for making Chinese exports to the U.S. cheaper and costing the U.S. jobs. The Bush Administration has continued to express support for efforts the Chinese have made toward a flexible currency; however, it has criticized its pace.