TOKYO -- The Chinese yuan fell below the 7-per-dollar level for the first time in 11 years soon after the Communist Party's annual conclave began at the seaside resort of Beidaihe, Hebei Province.
"The government wants to promote exports and buoy business sentiment," a Chinese market participant explained. "But even so, intentionally letting the yuan pass the 7-per-dollar line, something they had been so vigilantly defending, was shocking."