China announced that it was raising interest rates.

The new chief of China’s central bank also said she would tighten controls over the banking system and admitted that there had been a $2-billion fall in foreign exchange reserves. Chen Muhua was switched from minister of foreign trade to heading the People’s Bank of China a week ago as part of government moves to strengthen control over the economy, cut credit and slow wage rises. She said foreign exchange reserves declined to $14.42 billion by the end of 1984, compared to $16.67 billion in September.