Can the RMB exchange rate stabilize within the "6 yuan range"?

In the foreign exchange market, the Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB), has appreciated. On January 5, the RMB’s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar reached a range of 1 USD to 6.97 yuan, marking the RMB’s appreciation and the dollar’s depreciation at levels not seen in 2 years and 8 months. Factors such as a continuously accumulating trade surplus have created pressure to sell the U.S. dollar and buy the renminbi. To avoid an economic downturn, relevant Chinese authorities, among others, have shown a constraining attitude toward the renminbi’s appreciation.

Annual Trade Surplus First Breaks $1 Trillion

The renminbi, on December 30, 2025, briefly rose to 1 USD to 6.9870 yuan, breaking the important 7-yuan level and further intensifying its appreciation. This was the first time it had surpassed the 7-yuan mark since May 2023. On January 5, 2026, it also once again rose further to 1 USD to 6.9770 yuan.

When U.S.-China trade frictions in mid-April 2025 reached their peak, the RMB exchange rate had fallen to 1 USD to 7.3518 yuan, the lowest level in 17 years and 4 months. After the U.S. and China reached an agreement in May 2025 to reduce tariffs, the exchange rate began to rebound; compared with the low point in April 2025, it was up 5%.

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The Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Financial Times merged into the same media group in November 2015. The alliance formed by the two newspaper companies—both of which were founded in the 19th century, in Japan and the United Kingdom—is moving forward with “high-quality, the strongest economic journalism” as its banner, promoting broad collaboration in areas such as joint special features. In this instance, as one part of that effort, article exchanges have been implemented between the two newspapers’ Chinese websites.