An employee arranges yuan notes at a branch of the China Minsheng Bank in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu province in this April 28, 2006 file photo. [Reuters]

China fired a warning shot at US lawmakers on Tuesday, saying that proposed legislation to pressure Beijing to step up exchange rate reform risked politicizing trade and would not sway its priorities.

With US Congress members increasingly riled by their nation's trade deficit, a group of senators is expected to unveil legislation this week seeking to pressure Beijing to revalue its yuan currency more quickly and so make its exports more costly.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reluctant in the past to wade into trade disputes, told the US lawmakers to back off.

"As for whether the renminbi exchange rate is high or low, the US Congress believes it is too low," ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference, referring to the yuan by its official name.

"But whose standard is this? It's the United States'. But ultimately China's renminbi exchange rate must suit Chinese realities, and it must benefit China's and the world's economic development."

"The US Congress could pass this legislation which will lead to the problem of higher tariffs on Chinese goods... If this happens then the Chinese departments concerned will make a response."

China's warning over the US legislative moves comes as the two countries' trade-sparring risks turning into a shoving match that could spill over into next year's presidential contest.

Many US lawmakers and manufacturers blame China's exchange rate controls for holding down the value of the yuan and fuelling the large US trade deficit with China.

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