China manipulating currency, US senators warn

Washington, June 19 (IANS) Two senior US senators from opposing political parties have urged the Trump administration to take stronger action against what they described as China’s continued currency manipulation, arguing that Beijing’s policies are distorting global trade and hurting American workers and manufacturers.

In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent following this week’s G7 summit in Evian, France, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator Rick Scott called for a coordinated response with US allies and urged the administration to consider formally designating China a currency manipulator.

“China appears to be deliberately suppressing the value of its currency to make its exports artificially cheap and American-made goods artificially expensive, unfairly undermining the competitiveness of US manufacturers and workers,” the senators wrote.

The bipartisan intervention comes as the Trump administration seeks support from major allies to address trade imbalances with China, a central issue discussed at the G7 gathering.

Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Scott said Beijing had shifted its methods of intervention in recent years, making them harder to track.

“For roughly two decades, China’s currency intervention was legible through its central bank where foreign exchange purchases showed up on the (People’s Bank of China)’s balance sheet,” they wrote.

“In the last decade or so, however, it has shifted to a less visible approach—routing dollar purchases through a murky network of state-owned commercial banks, policy banks, and its sovereign wealth fund.”

According to the senators, “the result is a system deliberately designed to evade detection: China is the only major US trading partner that does not publicly disclose its foreign exchange interventions.”

The lawmakers pointed to China’s growing trade surplus as evidence that market forces alone cannot explain the current value of the renminbi.

“China’s trade surplus reached $1.2 trillion in 2025—a record high representing nearly 70 percent of all global goods trade surpluses,” they wrote.

“Under normal market conditions, a surplus that large would lead to a rise in China’s currency value. That increase has yet to occur, and the reason is likely due to a deliberate policy of manipulation.”

The senators argued that an undervalued currency effectively subsidises Chinese exports while making goods produced in the United States less competitive overseas.

“The consequences of this manipulation on American workers are imminent,” they wrote. “A deliberately undervalued currency acts simultaneously as a hidden subsidy on the costs of imports while making US exports more expensive.”

The letter also sought greater coordination with America’s partners following the G7 summit.

“Our G7 allies share concerns about China’s currency, and the aftermath of the summit presents an opportunity to coordinate a unified response,” the lawmakers wrote.

They added that it was “critical to mitigate the consequences and impacts of China’s unfair and manipulative practices on American families and workers”.

The senators said media reports following the summit suggested growing concern among allied governments about Chinese trade imbalances and argued that the G7 should press Beijing to allow greater transparency and market-based currency appreciation.

“We urge the Administration to address China’s currency practices directly in the next Foreign Exchange Report—including consideration of a formal finding of manipulation—and to continue coordinating with G7 allies toward a unified response that pressures China to allow market driven appreciation and full transparency in its exchange rate practices,” they concluded.

–IANS

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