MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

China takes the lead position as the world’s main exporter

Some countries complain the Chinese Yuan is undervalued 20%

The World Trade Organization confirmed China's top position in the global markets saying it had now overtaken Germany as the world's top exporter. The United States comes in third on the list behind Germany.

While China exported 1.2 trillion US dollars worth of goods and services in 2009, Germany's value of exports added up to 1.12 trillion and the United States came in marginally behind with 1.06 trillion worth, according to a report in The London Times Online.

The report comes even as China fends off increasing attacks from a wide range of nations around the world on the “artificial currency peg” it maintains with the US dollar. This allows Beijing to undervalue its currency, the Yuan by as much as 20%. Some claim the undervaluation may be as high as 40%.

The report also emerges as China tries to maintain an opaque system of governance that does not allow foreign companies easy access to its home markets and creates hurdles in terms of legal systems and preferences that once again provides domestic companies competitive advantages.

Google is only the latest victim of this rigged system of commerce. The US Government is now making inquiries with credit card companies about the kind of barriers they face in China.

It is widely felt that the US is now only a fortnight or so away from declaring China as a currency manipulator - a decision that invites retaliatory tariff action from the US government. China is trying desperately hard to avert this possibility as such an action will be tantamount to declaring trade war.