Romney promises China crackdown on day one

By Vicki Needham - 10/22/12 10:48 PM ET

Republican hopeful Mitt Romney reiterated during Monday night's debate with President Obama that he would label China a currency manipulator on his first day in office should he win the White House.

Romney, who has called for a get-tough approach on China in swing-state campaign ads, said the United States is losing jobs to China because the government there "has not played by the same rules, in part by holding down artificially the value of their currency." He said the U.S. can't "surrender and lose jobs year in and year out" while China games the system.

"It holds down the prices of their goods. It means our goods aren’t as competitive and we lose jobs. That’s got to end," Romney said.

Asked by debate moderator Bob Schieffer whether labeling China a currency manipulator would start a trade war, Romney said one is already under way.

"There's one going on right now that we don't know about. It's a silent one, and they're winning." Romney said. "We have an enormous trade imbalance with China, and it's worse this year than last year."

Obama responded to Romney with an attack on the former governor's business career at the private equity firm Bain Capital.

"Gov. Romney is right, you are familiar with jobs being shipped overseas as you invested in companies that were shipping jobs overseas," Obama said.

“And, you know, that’s your right. I mean that’s how our free market works. But I’ve made a different bet on American workers.”

Obama argued that U.S. exports to China have doubled during his administration and that "currencies are at their most advantageous point for U.S. exporters since 1993."

"We absolutely have to make more progress, and that's why we're going to keep on pressing," Obama said.

America's trade relationship with China has emerged as a central issue in the White House race, particularly in Rust Belt states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania that have a big manufacturing presence.

China is the third-largest export market for the United States and, since 2000, exports grew by 542 percent, while they expanded by only 80 percent to the rest of the world.

The trade deficit with China last year was $295 billion, the largest on record with any single country — and that total could be eclipsed this year.

The Obama administration announced last week that it had won an appeal with China over tariffs placed on a U.S. high-tech steel export, the latest in a series of trade actions taken against Beijing.