1. China is not a currency manipulator. Reason: The United States has always accused China of being a currency manipulator, because China has a huge trade surplus, especially with the United States. The United States believes that the trade surplus is a manifestation of China's manipulation and artificially low exchange rate. Its purpose is to increase exports and promote domestic employment and economic development. This is completely wrong. China's high export depends not on the low exchange rate, but on the low labor cost and resource cost. The low price is the main reason why China's goods are competitive in the international market, and it is also the main reason for the trade surplus, which is due to China's demographic dividend and correct macroeconomic policies. Therefore, it is extremely arbitrary and wrong for the United States to judge China as a currency manipulator based on its huge trade surplus.
2. China is a currency manipulator. Reason: According to Mundell-Fleming model, China's huge trade surplus needs RMB appreciation. Although the RMB has appreciated since the exchange rate reform in 2005, the speed is still relatively slow. The reason is that China has always adhered to the pegged exchange rate system, and the macro-control of the country has made the exchange rate change very small. The specific method is that the central bank buys a lot of dollars in the foreign exchange market to increase the demand for dollars, thus slowing down the appreciation of the renminbi. China's huge foreign exchange reserves are also an important reason. I believe that if the RMB is completely determined by market demand, the appreciation will never stop there.
PS: Many economic problems are quite complicated. We can't simply judge yes or no in two. What is important is that as long as we understand its context and its essence.