FILE PHOTO - Headquarters of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, is pictured in Beijing, China September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) - China firmly opposes a U.S. decision to label it a currency manipulator, its central bank said on Tuesday, adding that Beijing has not used and will not use the yuan to cope with trade frictions with the world’s biggest economy.

Designating China as a currency manipulator seriously harms international rules, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday that it had determined for the first time since 1994 that China was manipulating its currency, taking the countries’ year-long trade row into uncharted territory and adding to frenzied selling in global financial markets.