HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- In what has become something of a campaign ritual for politicians of both parties, President Obama and Mitt Romney have adopted hard-line postures toward China as Election Day approaches.
Whatever the result of the election, the rhetoric is likely to moderate after Nov. 6 if the experience of past administrations is anything to go by.
Romney has pledged to label China as a currency manipulator on his first day in office, and frequently works the promise into his campaign speeches.
The former consultant and private equity CEO has also accused the Obama administration of being too soft on China, especially on trade issues.
"It's time for us to stand up to China for their cheating," Romney told a crowd in Ohio on Saturday. "It's gotta stop."
The president has been more circumspect in his use of language but the administration this year has filed trade complaints against China over autos and rare earths. It also blocked the sale of American wind farm companies to a Chinese firm.
Related: Americans: China is an economic threat
The latest criticisms from the Republican candidate comes after the Treasury Department last week delayed the release of a report that has in the past criticized China for keeping the value of its currency artificially low.
Delays are nothing new, but the next edition of the report is now unlikely to be issued until after the election.
The president has run a campaign that has repeatedly sought to draw connections between Romney's tenure at Bain Capital and the outsourcing of American jobs to China.
"Mitt Romney: tough on China? Since when?" a recent ad asked.
"[Romney] says he's gonna take the fight to them, he's going to go after these cheaters, and I've got to admit, that message is better than what he has actually done about this thing," Obama said earlier this month in Ohio.
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