Washington - US Treasury secretary-designee Timothy Geithner
on Thursday said he believed China was deliberately keeping its
currency devalued and signalled the new Obama administration would
not give China a 'free pass' to keep its trading advantage.
'President Obama - backed by the conclusions of a broad range of
economists - believes that China is manipulating its currency,' he
said Thursday, in written responses to questions from the Senate
Finance Committee.
'Countries like China cannot continue to get a free pass for
undermining fair trade principles,' Geithner said, but did not offer
specific details on how President Barack Obama would tackle the
issue.
The US in a long-running dispute has argued that China's yuan
currency is undervalued by as much as 30 per cent, giving the country
an unfair trade advantage for its exports over the United States.
Obama has been a critic of China's currency in the past,
sponsoring resolutions in the Senate that would have authorized new
US enforcement mechanisms against China and other countries deemed to
hold unfair trade advantages.
Geithner said the US relationship with China, the world's third
largest economy, represented 'significant challenges but also
opportunities' and pledged continued cooperation with the Chinese
government.
He said the new administration was working on an 'integrated
strategy' to work with China on redressing the trade imbalance.
Geithner has yet to be confirmed by the Senate as US Treasury
secretary. The finance committee approved his nomination Thursday.
The full Senate could hold its own vote later this week.
USA
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