Congress should pass legislation giving US companies a new tool to fight China’s “currency manipulation” and also put pressure on the White House to take action at the World Trade Organisation, a congressional watchdog panel said on Thursday .

The Bush administration’s strategy of using diplomatic pressure to push China towards a more market-­oriented currency policy has not produced results, Carolyn Bartholomew, chairman of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said during an advanced briefing on its annual report.