Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hinted Wednesday that the White House intends to address currency manipulation by China as part of negotiations to resolve the ongoing trade war between the countries. The comment comes as the department has a report pending on China's currency activities.

“The renminbi has depreciated significantly during the year. There are various factors for that, which we look forward to discussing with them. One of those factors has to do with their own economic issues and what has gone on in the Chinese economy," Mnuchin told the Financial Times. “We are going to absolutely want to make sure that, as part of any trade understanding we come to, that currency has to be part of that.”

Mnuchin did not specifically mention currency manipulation in his remarks, however. While President Trump as a candidate alleged that China manipulates its currency, his administration has thus far refrained from formally accusing China of that. The Treasury Department officially declared last year that none of the countries that the US trades with, including China, is artificially manipulating its currency.

The treasury secretary declined to say what the upcoming report, due out sometime this month, would say in this regard.

Over the weekend, China announced that it would reduce the reserves most commercial banks are required to hold by a single percentage point, which would free up nearly $175 billion to boost lending. The effort was widely seen as a reaction to strains on the economy caused by the tariffs on $250 billion worth of goods the Trump administration has hit Beijing with.