Remarks by US treasury secretary-elect Timothy Geithner that China is "manipulating" its currency suggest the Obama administration will take a firm stance on its economic policies toward Beijing, local analysts said on Friday.

Geithner told senators on Thursday the new administration will press China to change its exchange rate policies. His comments were a clear move away from the stance of the Bush administration, which did not label China as a currency manipulator.

"The new US government seems to be harsher regarding China's exchange rate policy," Sun Lijian, an economist with Fudan University, said.