Another reason for the appreciation is the renminbi’s peg to the dollar, which has fluctuated increasingly widely since October 2011. As a result, while the renminbi performed poorly against the dollar in the first half of this year (even depreciating temporarily), America’s year-end “fiscal cliff,” together with QE3, has weakened the dollar since the start of the third quarter, with the exchange rate falling back to its level at the start of this year.