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Obama criticises China over currency

The US President Barack Obama has criticised China for not allowing its currency, the yuan, to rise in value. The comment was made at the end of the APEC Asia-Pacific regional summit in Hawaii.

The issue has been a sore point between the United States and China for several years.

Reporter

Jon Bithrey

President Barack Obama 

President Obama strongly criticised China.

Report

President Obama's comments criticising China are amongst his strongest to date. In general the US government has preferred to make its feelings known behind closed doors, cautious about upsetting one of its biggest trading partners.

During a news conference, Mr Obama said many economists¹ believed the yuan was undervalued by between 20 and 25%, making exports to China from the US much more expensive and imports much cheaper.

He said China had to operate by the same rules as everyone. Earlier China's foreign ministry² issued a statement saying President Obama was told by his counterpart, Hu Jintao, that the problems in the American economy wouldn't be solved by an appreciation³ of the yuan.

President Obama is certainly under pressure on the domestic front. With the American economy still flagging, calls from politicians are mounting for tougher measures to be taken to force China to change its stance.

And with President Obama entering an election year, he may feel now is the time to raise the rhetoric⁴.

John Bithrey, BBC News