The Government of Canada welcomes China's decision to move to a more flexible exchange rate regime.

Canada and the rest of the G7 have been saying for some time that increased flexibility in the Chinese exchange rate would benefit the Chinese economy and would contribute to greater stability in the global economy. Today's announcement makes it clear that the Chinese authorities agree.

It remains to be seen exactly how the new system will work and how much flexibility it will provide. But this is an encouraging first step.