China Thursday criticised a plan by US lawmakers to retaliate against countries that allegedly manipulate their currencies and warned the move could lead to protectionism. "Any groundless accusations against China on this issue will only encourage the trade protectionism," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.
"The international community, including the United States, is clearly aware that the Chinese government has never made any profit in international trade by manipulating the exchange rate," he said. He was speaking a day after US legislators proposed a law that could punish China for alleged currency manipulation.
The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, backed by Republicans and Democrats as well as business groups and major labour unions, aims to use US anti-dumping and countervailing duties to strike back at prolonged manipulation. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have long accused Beijing of keeping the yuan artificially low - a step that would boost its exports by making Chinese products less expensive relative to US goods on global markets.
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