China must ease dollar buys: central bank official (by Michael Kitchen)

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A Chinese monetary official on Monday added to calls for Beijing to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves away from the U.S. dollar, according to reports. A deputy director at the Guangzhou branch of the People's Bank of China, Xu Nuojin, said in a statement to government media that the country should move away from its focus on U.S. Treasurys to buy securities in other currencies, and should also invest in stocks and commodities, reports said. While Xu has no influence over Chinese foreign-reserve policy, a Dow Jones Newswires report said the remarks helped provide support to the euro during Monday trading.