More on the US currency manipulation watch list – China

OK, Here is a summary of comments from the report on China (bolding mine):
  • Pursuant to the 2015 Act, Treasury finds that no major trading partner met all three criteria in the current reporting period based on the most recent available data. 
  • Eight major trading partners, however, met two of the three criteria for enhanced analysis under the 2015 Act in this Report or in the October 2018 Report. 
  • Additionally, one major trading partner, China, constitutes a disproportionate share of the overall U.S. trade deficit. 
  • These nine economies – China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam – constitute Treasury’s Monitoring List. 
  • China has met one of the three criteria in every Report since the October 2016 Report, having a significant bilateral trade surplus with the United States, with this surplus accounting for a disproportionate share of the overall U.S. trade deficit. 
  • Notwithstanding the welcome decline in the scale and persistence of foreign exchange intervention among many major U.S. trading partners in recent years, the Administration remains deeply concerned by the very large trade imbalances in the global economy. The U.S. trade deficit widened further in 2018, and bilateral trade deficits with several major trading partners, particularly China, remain extremely large. The United States is committed to working towards a fairer and more reciprocal trading relationship with China. 
  • Further, global growth is neither sufficiently strong nor balanced. Very large trade and current account surpluses have persisted in several major economies for many years. These imbalances pose risks to future growth, risks which are intensified by the persistence of imbalances. Treasury will continue to press major U.S. trading partners that have maintained large and persistent external surpluses to support stronger and more balanced global growth by reorienting macroeconomic policies to support stronger domestic demand growth, while durably avoiding foreign exchange and trade policies that facilitate unfair competitive advantage.