Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, encouraged the US Congress to pile pressure on China to force it to allow its currency to rise and said the administration was examining a range of tools to urge Beijing to act.
But during his appearance in front of the Senate banking committee on Thursday, Mr Geithner stopped short of promising to impose any of the aggressive legal or administrative measures demanded by American lawmakers.
His comments came in response to renewed anger in Congress about the effects on the US economy of China’s intervention to hold down the renminbi. Ahead of the hearing, Beijing hit back at criticism of its currency policy, saying that the US’s problems were not of China’s making. Jiang Yu, spokeswoman at the Chinese foreign ministry, told reporters: “I would point out that appreciation of the renminbi will not solve the US deficit and unemployment problems.”