China lobbies against US currency bill

China has launched a lobbying campaign in Washington DC to convince US lawmakers to kill legislation that would punish China for keeping its currency at a relatively low rate against the dollar, Reuters reported. A 12-person “Congressional Liason Team” from China has been meeting with aides to key lawmakers and paying a well-known Washington law firm US$35,000 a month to register their opposition in Congress to the bill. The strategy is a departure from Beijing’s earlier, more hamfisted attempts to manipulate the US political system, many of them predicated on the misunderstanding that the US legislature was a mere empty mouthpiece for the executive branch. “[The Chinese] have built up a very nuanced understanding of how Congress works,” commented a former US official.” The bill passed the Senate by a 63-35 vote on Tuesday but may face stronger opposition in the House. President Obama has indicated that he does not support the legislation, although he accused the Chinese of trying to “game the system.”