Yuan rate at 'reasonable level'

BEIJING: China's exchange rate is at a reasonable level and is "in line" with the country's current conditions, Finance Minister Jin Renqing said on Wednesday.

"I think the current exchange rate is in line with the conditions of the country and the conditions of foreign trade," Jin said on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing.

While he does not oversee foreign exchange policy, Jin's statement would support suggestions China has no immediate plans to succumb to international pressure to revalue the yuan, which trade partners such as the United States say is kept at an artificially low rate.

The Chinese yuan has been pegged at about 8.28 to the dollar for the past decade and so has recently followed the American currency on its downward path against the world's major currencies. -- AFP