Chinese central bank expresses regret after US designates Beijing a currency manipulator

Chinese central bank on Tuesday expressed "deep regret" over United States' unilateral steps to designate China as a currency manipulator and said that the step will "bring turmoil to the financial market".

"The Chinese side expresses its deep regret over the United States' decision to designate China as a country that manipulates the currency exchange rate. This label is not even in conformity with the qualitative standards that the United States uses itself to define what a 'currently manipulator' is. This is an ill-considered policy of unilateral steps and a manifestation of protectionism," The People's Bank of China said in a statement.

The US Treasury Department on Monday designated China as a currency manipulator and said will work with the International Monetary Fund to address the issue.

The Treasury stated that China has had a long track record of keeping its currency artificially low through massive interventions in foreign exchange markets and recently Beijing had made further moves to devalue its currency.

The latest escalation between the US and China comes after President Donald Trump announced a new set of tariffs last week on USD 300 billion on Chinese goods.

The new sanction would mean everything that China sells to the US, including clothes and iPhones to chemicals and construction equipment, will have levies of between 10 and 25 per cent on them starting September.