The accusation by US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner that China is engaging in currency manipulation should not have been unexpected given US President Barack Obama's references to this in his election campaign.

Now in office, the 44th US president is keen to show early on that he keeps his campaign promises and restating that currency concern officially goes along with that.

However, it is unlikely to be taken much further than that in the current global climate and, as with a number of other policies, closer examination may well lead to a sensible reassessment.