The Obama administration was only days old when the argument over whether China's currency is deliberately undervalued – a huge bone of contention in US-China relations for years – returned to the headlines.
In written answers to questions from senators at his confirmation hearing, Tim Geithner, the treasury secretary, said: “President Obama – backed by the conclusions of a broad range of economists – believes that China is manipulating its currency.” Mr Obama would “use aggressively all the diplomatic avenues open to him to seek change in China's currency practices”, he added.
China responded unusually quickly and angrily. The commerce ministry released a statement saying: “Directing unsubstantiated criticism at China on the exchange rate issue will only help US protectionism and will not help towards a real solution to the issue.”