Ahead of trade deal, US removes 'currency manipulator' label on China

New Delhi : The United States on Monday softened its stand against China by removing 'currency manipulator' tag it had pasted on China last summer.

The development comes just two days before President Donald Trump is set to sigh a 'phase one' of a trade deal with China. The US treasury said in its semi-annual report to Congress that the yuan has strengthened and Beijing is no longer considered a currency manipulator.

"Over the summer, China took concrete steps to devalue its currency," the yuan or renminbi (RMB), and those moves "left the RMB at its weakest level against the dollar in over 11 years," Treasury said.

However, more recently was strengthened to 6.93 to the dollar and Treasury said the trade pact addresses currency issues.

"In this agreement, China has made enforceable commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation and not target its exchange rate for competitive purposes," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.