Few believe story US administration is now fabricating

EDITOR'S NOTE: The International Monetary Fund recently released a report reiterating that China's current account surplus declined in 2018 and the yuan's exchange rate was basically in line with its economic fundamentals. The report makes clear that China is not a "currency manipulator" as the United States claims. Zhong Sheng, a columnist for People's Daily, comments:

The IMF report is based on sound data and facts. China's current account surplus as a share of GDP fell by about 1 percentage point to 0.4 percent in 2018 and is expected to remain at 0.5 percent this year. No wonder an IMF official said on Friday that there is no significant overvaluation or undervaluation of the yuan.

A UBS economist warned in a recent report that if the US imposes tariffs on another $300 billion of Chinese goods, the yuan could further weaken against the US dollar due to market forces. Thus, while some in the US fear that the yuan's depreciation will offset the effect of Washington's "tariff" stick, the market is bound to be far greater than that of the manipulative hand of the US. Under this situation, the purpose of the US labeling China a "currency manipulator" is only to cause trouble for China's development.