US labels China a currency manipulator, escalating trade war with Beijing

It's the first time that the US labeled a country a manipulator since the 1990s, when China was also the target

The Trump administration formally labeled China a currency manipulator, further escalating its trade war with Beijing after the country's central bank allowed the yuan to fall in retaliation for new US tariffs.

While the Treasury Department's determination is largely symbolic -- the potential penalties are less punitive than the steps Trump has already taken against China -- it underscores how rapidly the relationship between the world's two largest economies is deteriorating. The move roiled markets, with S&P 500 Index futures sliding almost 2 per cent at one point, though turmoil eased when China set a stronger-than-expected level for the yuan