China doesn't manipulate currency (yet it does)

Does China manipulate their currency?

The Obama Administration says China doesn't...  "The Obama administration on Friday declined to cite China for manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages against the United States" (AP)

Ah... yes, of course...

So, what did Pres. Candidate Obama think 1 week before Election, 2008?

Obama says China must stop manipulating currency (DemocraticUnderground) 10/29/08 - "China's huge trade surplus with the United States is "directly related to its manipulation of its currency's value," Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said... The blunt statement from the frontrunner heading into next week's U.S. election follows years of Bush administration refusal to label China as a currency manipulator.... "China must change its policies, including its foreign exchange policies, so that it relies less on exports and more on domestic demand for its growth," Obama said in a letter to the National Council of Textile Organizations."

Yes.. I see... What did the US Treasury Sec. & the newly sworn-in President think in early 2009?

Geithner Says China Manipulates Its Currency (Washington Post) 1/23/09 - "As Timothy F. Geithner moved closer yesterday to confirmation as Treasury secretary, he signaled a more confrontational approach toward China, bluntly stating that the new administration thinks Beijing is "manipulating" its currency and it will act "aggressively" using "all the diplomatic avenues" to change China's currency practices."

In fact, the previous day 1/22/09, according to MarketWatch.com, Geithner said, "President Obama believes that China is manipulating its currency... President Obama has pledged as President to use aggressively all the diplomatic avenues open to him to seek change in China's currency practices,"

Ah, I see..  and what does the Federal Reserve think, just three months ago?

Bernanke to China: Stop manipulating currency (AP)  2/18/11 - "Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke has appeared to call on China to stop manipulating its currency. "Countries with excessive and unsustainable surpluses (China) will need to allow their exchange rates to better reflect market fundamentals"...  The Fed chair's typically dry language did little to mask a pointed effort to increase the pressure on China to end the practice by which it gives its exports a boost--at the cost of U.S. exports--by keeping the yuan artificially low."

And the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission in 2010?

China manipulates currency, U.S. panel says (CNN Money)  11/17/10 - "China continues to manipulate its currency and the nation's "exclusionary" trade policies have contributed to a massive deficit with the United States, a special commission said..."

How about the bi-partisan thoughts of 130 Congressmen back in 2010?

China Manipulates Its Currency, Say 130 Congressmen (WallStreetPit.com)  3/17/10- "More than 100 members of the US Congress are asking the Obama administration to label China a currency manipulator... (in a letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner), both Republican and Democrats accuse China of artificially manipulating the value of  its currency to ensure its exports remain competitive and by extension, increasing America’s trade deficit with China."

You the reader decide for yourself, but I leave you with one stat--  China's trade deficit with the United States hit $273 billion last year, the largest deficit the United States has ever had with any country.