Declaring China currency manipulator hostile: Obama campaign

Criticises Romney's rhetorical promise to do so if elected

Contending that it would be a "hostile action" to declare China a currency manipulator, the Obama campaign has criticised Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney's rhetorical promise to do so if elected.

Marie Harf, associate policy director for National Security in the Obama Campaign, told foreign journalists, on the sidelines of the Democratic national convention here that such a step would not be good for the country.

This is one of those areas where the contrast with Romney is really clear, she said.

"That he's pledged on day one of his presidency to designate China a currency manipulator, which has gotten him criticised by everyone from the Chamber of Commerce saying it's unnecessary to conservative media outlets in the United States, all have said that it would be an unnecessarily hostile action and that it wouldn't be good policy," she said.

"Again, this is an election with a choice. On this issue, he has made his policy clear. Our policy, we feel, strikes the right balance," Harf said responding to questions on anti-China rhetoric coming from the Romney campaign.

Laura Tyson, former Clinton Administration Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors and now an economic policy advisor to the Obama Campaign, said the Obama administration has continued a very important initiative of having an ongoing high-level bilateral economic dialogue with China.

"So when we sit down with China and talk to them about our concerns about foreign investment in China or our concerns about say the indigenous innovation effort, that I think is the most important set of things we do and the Chinese talked to us about their concerns. So I would say you have to put the currency issue within a whole constellation of other issues," she said.

"I feel the administration has followed the correct course in terms of its actions on the currency question. In the meantime, of course, on real inflation adjusted terms, the Chinese currency has continued to appreciate. Of course now the Chinese economy is slowing down significantly as well," she said.

The issue of currency, she said, needs to be discussed within the context of the trade and investment relations with China.