The escalation of the trade war between China and the U.S. has badly affected the yuan exchange rate, Wang Chunying, spokewoman for China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Wednesday.

Wang said in an interview with CCTV, China’s predominant state television broadcaster, that the escalation of trade tensions by the U.S. has recently hit the yuan exchange rate, and that the market had fully responded.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday said it had officially designated China as a currency manipulator and would work with the International Monetary Fund to address the issue.

China’s central bank, in response, warned that Washington’s move undermined international principles and would result in extremely negative consequences for the global economy.

Wang, however, added that the yuan exchange rate was stable as at the time of the interview .

The U.S. currency accusation comes amid a protracted trade dispute between the two countries that began in June 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports in a bid to balance the trade deficit.

Since then, the two countries have introduced several rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs.

(Sputnik/NAN)