China’s president Hu Jintao has raised questions on the role of the US dollar in the global monetary system on the eve of a state visit to Washington, saying “the current international currency system is the product of the past”.

　　中国国家主席胡锦涛在赴华盛顿进行国事访问前夕，对美元在国际货币体系的作用提出了疑问。他表示，“目前的国际货币体系是旧时代的产物”。

　　Mr Hu, who arrives in Washington on Tuesday, also delivered a thinly veiled critique of US monetary policy, underlining China’s concern about the impact on its own economy of recent stimulus measures taken by the US Federal Reserve.

　　胡锦涛也不加掩饰地批评了美国的货币政策，突显出中国对美联储(Fed)近期采取的刺激措施对中国经济影响的担忧。胡锦涛将于周二抵达华盛顿。

　　“The monetary policy of the United States has a major impact on global liquidity and capital flows and therefore, the liquidity of the US dollar should be kept at a reasonable and stable level,” said Mr Hu.

　　胡锦涛表示：“美国的货币政策对全球流动性和资本流向有主要影响，因此美元就应在一个合理稳定的水平。”

　　Mr Hu made his comments in response to written questions from two US newspapers, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

　　胡锦涛是在答复《华盛顿邮报》(Washington Post)和《华尔街日报》(the Wall Street Journal)这两家美国报纸的书面提问时发表上述言论的。

　　His unusually blunt comments on the US-led monetary system as a “product of the past” is confirmation that China will continue to take measures to internationalise its own currency, the renminbi.

　　胡锦涛异乎寻常地坦言美国主导的货币体系是“旧时代产物”，证实中国将继续采取措施推动人民币国际化。

　　However, Mr Hu said that “making the RMB an international currency will be a fairly long process”.

　　不过胡锦涛表示：“人民币成为国际货币将是一个相当漫长的过程。”

　　Mr Hu rarely gives newspapers interviews, especially to western outlets, leaving most high-profile media public appearances at home and abroad to be conducted by Wen Jiabao, the country’s smooth-talking premier.

　　胡锦涛很少接受报纸采访，尤其是西方报纸，在国内外媒体上的高调公开亮相，大多由健谈的国务院总理温家宝负责。

　　Although Mr Hu’s stiffly worded answers contain little that conveys any of his own personality, their distribution illustrates the importance China attaches to the US trip, which also includes a stop in Chicago.

　　尽管胡锦涛字斟句酌的回答几乎不包含任何传递个人感情色彩的内容，但这些言论的发表表明了中国对胡锦涛访美之行的重视。胡锦涛还将在芝加哥停留。

　　Despite what he acknowledged as a “sensitive” issue of disagreement between the US and China, he generally struck a positive note on bilateral ties, saying the two sides could work productively together.

　　尽管美中之间存在分歧（他承认这是一个“敏感”问题），但胡锦涛总体上对两国关系持积极姿态，表示两国可以卓有成效地合作。

　　“There is great potential for our mutually beneficial co-operation both in advancing Asia-Pacific regional co-operation and in improving global economic governance and promoting sustainable growth of the world economy,” he said.

　　胡锦涛表示：“在推进亚太区域合作、提高全球经济治理以及促进世界经济的持续发展上，我们双方的互利合作还存在巨大潜力。”

　　Mr Hu strongly criticised the structural faults in the world’s banking system that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

　　胡锦涛严厉批评了导致2008年金融危机的全球银行业体系结构性缺陷。

　　“Its root cause lies in the serious defects of the existing financial system,” he said, adding that global institutions had failed to fully reflect the changing status of developing countries in the world economy and finance.

　　他表示：“金融危机的根源在于现有金融体系的严重缺陷。”他补充称，国际机构未能充分反映发展中国家在全球经济和金融中不断改变的地位。

　　Mr Hu will be feted in the White House with a state dinner on Wednesday, the type of event that the administration reserves for close friends or countries and leaders that it thinks need to be cultivated.

　　美国将于周三在白宫举行国宴接待胡锦涛，这种活动是美国政府专为亲密朋友或国家、及其认为有必要交好的领导人准备的。