China views yuan depreciation not in its interest: Mnuchin

Washington: US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday said Chinese officials told him this week that a further depreciation of China’s yuan currency is not in the country’s interest.

Mnuchin also told a news conference that he is “not losing any sleep” over the prospect that China could sell US Treasury debt amid rising trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

“We had productive conversations, and they emphasized to me that it is not in their interest to see the RMB to continue to depreciate,” Mnuchin told a news conference at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bali.

“And as I’ve said, the currency issue is an important issue for us in trade and will be part of our trade discussions. We want to make sure that depreciation is not being used for competitive purposes in trade,” Mnuchin added.