China’s Foreign Ministry rejected accusations of currency manipulation and warned that a proposed piece of legislation before the US Congress could spark protectionism, Reuters reported. “The Chinese government has never engaged in so-called manipulation of currency exchange rates to obtain international trade benefits,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu. “Making groundless accusations over exchange rates will only encourage U.S. trade protectionism, and this would be of no help in really resolving the problems.” The bill being debated would require the US government to introduce countervailing duties on Chinese exports unless Beijing adjusted the renminbi-US dollar exchange rate to make its exports more expensive. However, legislators said there were doubts as to when or how the bill would advance. In an April report to Congress, the Obama administration declined to accuse China of manipulating its currency.