HONG KONG — Donald J. Trump has irritated China even before taking office as president, with criticism of the country’s trade and currency practices and an unexpected phone call with the president of Taiwan.

For a few hours on Tuesday, it looked to some as if China had struck back.

Data services widely available to the public showed that the country’s currency, the renminbi, had been sharply devalued as China slept.

Such a move would roil global markets and drastically escalate economic tensions between Beijing and the incoming administration. And because China tightly controls the value of its currency, such a sharp and sudden move would be no accident.

But no deliberate devaluation took place. Instead, the culprit was a technical problem.

Concerns are already high that slowing economic growth and persistent capital outflows are putting pressure on Beijing to let its currency weaken.