Premier Wen says stable yuan facilitates world recovery

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here Sunday a stable exchange rate of the Renminbi(RMB), or yuan, will facilitate the recovery of the world economy in the mid of the global financial crisis.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao smiles during a press conference after the closing meeting of the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2010. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

He made the remarks at a press conference after the closing of the annual parliament session.

Wen said since China began its currency reform to unpeg the yuan against the U.S. dollar in July 2005, the yuan has appreciated 21 percent against the U.S. dollar, or 16 percent in real terms.

"We did not depreciate the RMB from July 2008 to February 2009 when the global economy was in extreme trouble, but it appreciated in real terms by 14.5 percent," Wen told hundreds of domestic and foreign journalists.

Wen said during this period, China's exports fell by 16 percent but imports only dropped 11 percent and its trade surplus decreased 102 billion U.S. dollars.