Ｗｈｉｔｅ Ｈｏｕｓｅ：Ｃｈｉｎａ ｎｏｔ Ｍａｎｉｐｕｌａｔｉｎｇ Ｍｏｎｅｙ

The Bush administration determined that China was not manipulating its currency togain economic advantages but still pressedChinese to move more quickly to allow theyuan's value to be set by market forces.

The administration's determination， madein a currency report it is required to submit toCongress every six months， disappointed crit-ics who contend that Chinese currency prac-tices play a large role in America's soaringtrade deficits.

\"The administration's lack of action to-day hurts all Americans by refusing to ac-knowledge the obvious-that China manipu-lates its currency，\" said Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Schumer， D-N.Y.， is a leading sponsor oflegislation that would impose 27.5% tariffson all Chinese imports unless China does moreto allow its currency to rise in value againstthe dollar.

Treasury Secretary John Snow saidChina's decision to allow a small revalua-tion of its currency last July had been a fac-tor in deciding not to brand China a cur-rency manipulator， but he said more mustbe done.

The United States had a trade deficit of $162 billion with China last year， the largestever recorded with a single country， and thisyear's deficit is expected to approach $200billion.

China in July announced that it was allow-ing its currency， which had been pegged tightlyto the U.S. dollar， to rise in value by 2.1%. The Chinese said they would allow the currency tofluctuate by as much as 0.3% on a daily basis.However， over the past four months， the Chi-nese yuan has been essentially unchangedvalue.

Snow led a U.S. group which includedFederal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to China in October to urge the country's gov-ernment to allow a greater revaluation of theyuan. President Bush made a similar appealto Chinese leaders this month when he vis-ited China.

\"It is imperative that China move towardgreater flexibility as quickly as possible，\"Snow said in a statement accompanyingMonday's report.

He said the administration would focuson China's actions in preparing the next cur-rency report to Congress， which will be duein April. He said China's leaders have \"com-mitted repeatedly\" to introducing moreflexibility.

Briefing reporters on Monday's finding，Treasury Undersecretary Timothy Adams saidit was \"absolutely critical\" before the nextreport is due in April that Chinese authoritiesput in place the flexible type of currency sys-tem that they have promised.

He refused to say specifically what Chinawould need to do to avoid being designated acurrency manipulator in the next report，saying， \"I don't have a particular standard inmind. It is kind of like obscenity. We willknow it when we see it.\"

But Adams said the administration re-mained opposed to the Schumer bill withacross-the-board tariffs. He called that ap-proach protectionist and isolationist and saidit would probably prompt retaliatory tariffs bythe Chinese on American goods.