China warns U.S. against labeling country as currency manipulator

May 29 (UPI) -- China said Wednesday a decision by the Trump administration to not label Beijing a currency manipulator is "in line with common sense" and warned Washington against "unilateral claims."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing his government welcomes the decision.

"It is common sense to recognize China is not a currency manipulator," Lu said. "That is the common understanding in the international community."

The Chinese spokesman added China has always called on the United States to take de-escalating steps.

"China has constantly said the United States should respect objective facts and respect the rules of the market," Lu said. "We have also said the issue of currency exchange rates should not be politicized and proposed to the United States it should resolve matters following the international rules of multilateralism."

Beijing also warned Washington against future attempts to claim other countries seek to gain unfair trade advantages over the United States by manipulating its currency.

"The United States should stop unilaterally evaluating the exchange rates of other countries," Lu said. "It is not up to the United States to decide whether some countries manipulate the exchange. Multilateral institutions have been making authoritative assessments."

On Tuesday the Trump administration said it had refrained from charging China with currency manipulation, but placed the world's second-largest economy on a monitoring list that includes Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

Relations between China and the United States have reached new lows since a tough trade dispute has led to escalating tariffs.

The United States' National Travel and Tourism Office released data on Tuesday showing Chinese tourism to the United States is on the decline, down 5.7 percent from 2017.

It is the first decrease in outward-bound Chinese tourism to the United States since 2003, and coincides with rising nationalist sentiments in the country, according to reports.