China scrapped its 23-month-old peg to the greenback in mid-June. Since then, the currency has risen some 0.7 percent.
In Hu's latest statement about China's currency policy, which was posted on the central bank's website on Friday, she played down the yuan's impact on the country's exporters and said exchange rate reform would help ease inflationary pressure and reduce the cost of imports.
"The yuan's appreciation between 2005 and 2007 did not have a significant impact on the country's exports we must not underestimate exporters' flexibility and ability to adapt to a changing environment," Hu said.
However, economists said it is necessary to evaluate whether the yuan's appreciation has narrowed exporter's profit margins, especially at a time when external demand remains weak.
"A mild revaluation of the yuan might not affect exporters significantly but many of them couldn't survive if the currency goes up too fast," said Li Jianwei, senior economist at the Development Research Center of the State Council.
(Source: China Daily)
