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US official: Don’t hassle with China

05 October 2011 03:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Republican US House Speaker John Boehner has warned that passing a bill against China to retaliate against Beijing’s alleged currency manipulation is ’dangerous’, APA reports quoting Press TV

"It’s pretty dangerous to be moving legislation through the United States Congress forcing someone to deal with the value of their currency," Boehner said on Tuesday, AFP reported.

"This is well beyond what Congress ought to be doing, and while I’ve got concerns about how the Chinese have dealt with their currency, I’m not sure this is the way to fix it," said the speaker.

Boehner’s remarks dealt a heavy blow to a bill advanced by the Senate on Monday by a vote of 79-19, which allowed retaliatory duties on Chinese goods. The US lawmakers said the duties would be imposed if Beijing continued to ’artificially’ keep its currency and thus exports cheap.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, voiced strong opposition to the proposed legislation, saying the move would escalate tensions in the bilateral ties -- already bearing some strain due to Beijing’s opposition to Washington’s policies -- and block trade between the two sides.

Also on Tuesday, China’s Central Bank also expressed ’regret’ over the issue, saying that yuan’s exchange rate is not the main reason for the imbalances in the Sino-American trade.

"The differences in Chinese and US investment and trade structures, in deposit and consumer rates... and the unreasonable global currency system may be even more important elements than the currency exchange," the bank said.