U.S. Treasury again says China is not manipulating currency

The U.S. Treasury said that none of its major trading partners, including China, was manipulating its currency in a Semi-Annual Report to Congress on Tuesday.

The report put China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam on its "monitoring list," which means their foreign exchange policies bear close monitoring.

The Treasury Department called on China to take necessary steps to avoid "a persistently weak currency," noting that improved economic fundamentals and structural policy settings would underpin a stronger Renminbi (RMB) over time.

Liu Guoqiang, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, said last week that China is "capable and confident" of keeping the RMB exchange rate generally stable on a reasonable and balanced level.

Adam Posen, president of Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said earlier on Tuesday at a press briefing that it's "pretty close to absurd" to accuse China of currency manipulation as China basically has not manipulated the currency for the last several years.