THE United States has dropped its designation of China as a currency manipulator, according to a report from the U.S. Treasury Department released Monday.

In its semiannual Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States, the Treasury Department said no major U.S. trading partner at this time met the relevant legislative criteria for currency manipulation.

Noting that the department assessed developments over the last several months with China and its currency practices, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement that “China has made enforceable commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation, while promoting transparency and accountability.”

China has never been a currency manipulator, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said yesterday, adding the United States’ dropping its designation of China as a currency manipulator was in line with the facts and international consensus.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the latest International Monetary Fund assessment concluded that the yuan’s exchange rate level is generally in line with the economy’s fundamentals, objectively denying the claim that China is a “currency manipulator.”

Mark Sobel, U.S. chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, an independent think tank, said on Twitter that this is “good news,” calling the designation a “blatant” and “errant” political act.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened to a five-month high yesterday.

The central parity rate strengthened 309 pips to 6.8954 against the U.S. dollar, which was its strongest since Aug. 1 last year.

Amid heightened trade tensions, the U.S. Treasury Department decided to label China a currency manipulator in August, drawing strong criticism from voices domestic and abroad, with many calling the designation groundless and irresponsible.

Even Lawrence Summers, former U.S. treasury secretary and economic adviser to former President Barack Obama, lashed out at the decision, saying that such a move has damaged U.S. credibility.

After concluding the annual Article IV consultation to review the Chinese economy, the IMF released a report, which didn’t back the accusation, affirming its view that China’s exchange rate is broadly in line with economic fundamentals.

The U.S. Treasury Department under the Trump administration previously released five semiannual reports on major trading partners’ exchange rate policies — including one in May 2019 — none of which labeled China as a currency manipulator.

In the newly released report, the Treasury Department added Switzerland on its “monitoring list,” which means its foreign exchange policies merit close attention. In the May 2019 report, the department put China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam on the monitoring list.(Xinhua)