|
BEIJING, Aug. 6-- China on Tuesday voiced strong opposition to the U.S. decision to label it "a currency manipulator," stressing that China has never resorted to competitive devaluation and will not use the currency as a tool to deal with trade disputes. In a response to the designation, China's central bank refuted the unilateral move, saying the label does not meet the quantitative criteria for the so-called "currency manipulator" set by the U.S. Treasury. "The U.S. labeling is an arbitrary unilateral and protectionist practice, which seriously undermines international rules and will significantly impact the global economy and financial markets," the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in an online statement. U.S. TYPICAL MAXIMUM-PRESSURE TRICK Ronald Wen, a Hong Kong-based senior banker, said the alleged currency manipulation is a new weapon used by the U.S. in the trade friction with China, sending a signal that the U.S.-waged trade war is being expanded to more fields, including forex and financial markets. The U.S. Treasury designation was seen by analysts as a new excuse for more protectionist measures. The Treasury move reeks of arbitrariness and unilateralism, and will disrupt international trade rules and order as well as dampened investors' confidence, experts said. "By labeling China a currency manipulator, the U.S. is in fact continuing its maximum-pressure approach in trade talks," said Liao Qun, chief economist of the China CITIC Bank International. | 
