US President Barack Obama mocked rival Mitt Romney, comparing him to a "fox guarding a chicken coops," when it comes to China on trade, saying the Republican is just doing the talking and have personally benefited from the country.
"He's been talking tough on China. He says he's going to take the fight to them; he's going to go after these cheaters.I've got to admit, that message is better than what he's actually done about this thing. It sounds better than talking about all the years he spent profiting from companies that sent our jobs to China," Obama said, addressing an election meeting in Ohio.
"So when you hear this newfound outrage, when you see these ads he's running promising to get tough on China, it feels a lot like that fox saying, 'You know, we need more secure chicken coops'. I mean, it's just not credible," he said.
"I'm not just talking the talk," Obama said.
"I have woken up every single day doing everything I can to give American workers a fair shot in this global economy," he said amidst applause from the audience.
"So we've brought more trade cases against China in one term than the previous administration did in two and we've been winning those cases. We've stood up for autoworkers against unfair trade practices," the US president said.
Romney on the other hand continued with his blistering attack on Obama's policy in China.
"One of the nations that has cheated over the years has been China. They've artificially held down the value of their currency," he said.
"By doing that, the prices of their products are artificially low. And when their prices are low, and then they compete with our manufacturers, our guys go out of business, and people lose jobs.
That's why one thing I will do from day one is label China a currency manipulator. They must not steal jobs in unfair ways," Romney said at a manufacturing round table in Ohio.
By artificially lowering the prices, China has put the American or other manufacturers out of business, he alleged.
"I remember when we were making our Olympic torch for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002, we wanted to have a glass segment on the torch at the top, and have a fire that would burn inside the glass portion of our torch. And we went around the country looking for someone to manufacture it," he said.