China has rejected pressure from US lawmakers who are calling on Beijing to ease currency controls.

Business groups say that China's currency controls keep the yuan undervalued by up to 40 percent. Those business groups say that it gives Chinese exporters an unfair price advantage, and boosts China's multibillion-dollar trade surplus.

Earlier this week, 130 American lawmakers sent a letter appealing to the White House to take action over China's currency. They called on President Barack Obama to label Beijing a currency manipulator in a US Treasury Department report which is due in April. That could set the stage for a for a World Trade Organization complaint and possible trade sanctions.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said Thursday that Beijing is not intentionally pursuing a trade surplus. The spokesman also accused Washington of trade protectionism that he said might hurt the global economic recovery.