US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Alan Greenspan welcomed on Thursday China's decision to move to a more flexible currency system, calling it "a good start. "

In his testimony on the mid-year US economy situation before the US Senate Banking Committee, Greenspan said that "This is certainly a good first step. ... I think it is a good start"

He said that the US Fed would monitor the country's implementation of the new arrangement.

US Treasury Secretary John Snow also said in a statement that " I welcome China's announcement today that it is adopting a more flexible exchange rate regime."

"As we have said, reform of China's currency regime is important for China and the international financial system," he said.

The White House also welcomed the move by the Chinese government. "We are encouraged by China's announcement today that they are adopting a more flexible market-based currency system," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, announced on Thursday that the exchange rate of US dollars to Renminbi (RMB) is changed to one dollar to 8.11 yuan from 19:00 Thursday.

Source: Xinhua