China will unswervingly push forward the reform of the exchange rate system of the Chinese currency but will never yield to any outside pressure to change the rates, Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday.

During his meeting with a delegation from the US Chamber of Commerce, Wen said the implementation of the reform of the RMB exchange rate system is an essential requirement for the establishment of the socialist market economy and constitutes a major component part of China's reform of its financial sector.

It is China's "consistent" policy to carry out the reform, he said.

Wen stated the basic stance of the Chinese government on the issue for "the recent international attention to the exchange rate of the Chinese currency," he told the guests.

Wen underlined that China regards the reform of the exchange rate of RMB as an issue of sovereignty, and will never yield to any outside pressure to change it.

Any pressure and speculative exploitation on changing RMB exchange rate, or any attempt to turn the economic issue into a political one will not be conducive to resolution of the issue, he said.

"The Chinese government has a very definite, explicit attitude on the issue," Wen said.

As long as conditions ripe, he acknowledged, the Chinese government will take the initiative to advance the reform of the exchange rate system without any pressure from outside the country.

On the contrary, Wen said, if conditions are not available, the Chinese government will never hastily take any action, regardless of how great the pressure from outside is.

Since the reform of RMB exchange rate is an issue concerning China's sovereignty, China, as well as every other nation, has the absolute right to choose the exchange rate systems and appropriate levels of the exchange rate that fit into the concrete conditions of the country.

China will abide by the rules of market economy to advance reform of its exchange rate system, but will never yield to any outside pressure, the Chinese premier said.

Wen said China has to proceed from the specific conditions of the country when pushing forward reform of the RMB exchange rate. He said it is essential to take into consideration such factors as the macro-economic environment, the ability of Chinese companies to withstand the impact of changes in exchange rates, the progress of financial sector reform and the impact on international trade.

Wen said the Chinese government has done a lot of preparatory work for the reform of RMB exchange rate system, noting that China has been creating favorable conditions for the reform and extensively studying plans of the reform over the past few years.

Wen underscored that China is a responsible country. Therefore, the reform of RMB exchange rate system has to take into account its impact on neighboring countries, regions and global finance and economy.

Speculations about a revaluation of RMB have run wild in the international community as the United States recently exerted greater pressure on China to let its currency appreciate. The US Senate passed a bill in April, asking China to let RMB float or face higher US tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States.

Source: Xinhua