Morgan Stanley(US:MS)2025-07-02 03:15Investment Rating - The report does not provide a specific investment rating for the RMB or related assets Core Insights - The RMB is unlikely to appreciate significantly due to persistent deflationary pressures and the need for accommodative monetary policy [6][9] - Historical parallels between Japan's currency appreciation in the 1980s and the current situation in China are drawn, but the report argues that the RMB will not follow the same path [3][6] - Significant RMB appreciation would exacerbate deflation rather than alleviate it, and sustainable economic rebalancing requires more than just currency appreciation [6][10] Summary by Sections Currency Appreciation and Trade Tensions - Currency appreciation alone is insufficient to resolve complex trade tensions between the US and China, which involve multiple issues beyond currency [10][11] - Historical instances of RMB appreciation did not lead to a narrowing of China's trade surplus with the US [12][13] Deflationary Pressures - China is currently facing intense deflationary pressures, and significant currency appreciation would further harm corporate profits and aggregate demand [23][25] - The report highlights that exporters, particularly SMEs, would suffer from translation losses due to currency appreciation [24][25] Economic Rebalancing - Achieving sustainable economic rebalancing in China requires structural changes in growth models rather than just currency appreciation [41][42] - Policymakers in China prefer investment-driven growth, which complicates the shift towards consumption-led growth [41][42] Historical Context - Japan's experience with currency appreciation in the 1980s led to a loss of export competitiveness and did not result in sustainable economic rebalancing [32][46] - The report emphasizes that Japan's currency appreciation did not lead to a significant increase in private consumption as a share of GDP [54][53]