No plans for another revaluation, says Snow

China has given no timeline on any plans for a further revaluation of the yuan, but America will continue to urge greater flexibility in Beijing's exchange rate, US Treasury Secretary John Snow said.

His remarks came as a German magazine reported Beijing had in fact set a date for a second revaluation.

WirtschaftsWoche on Friday quoted Chinese government sources as saying China was planning to revalue its currency upward by 7.2 per cent on January 1.

"No they haven't," Mr Snow said in London when asked if Beijing had given fresh undertakings on a schedule for further currency liberalisation in the wake of the yuan's de-pegging from the dollar in July.

He said it was China's sovereign decision if any further changes were to be made to its currency regime.

"Decisions on a country's currency are sovereign decisions and they are decisions that China has to make. Our role in this is simply to convey to China our view that it is very much in their interest to move to greater flexibility," he said.

"We want to see them continue down that path. That's not just important for China, it's important for the global economy as well."

Finance Minister Jin Renqing , who is also in London, said Beijing believed it was important to carry on with a revaluation of the yuan, but he added that the process would be "gradual".

Mr Jin's remarks were conveyed to the press by members of a French delegation following his meeting with French Finance Minister Thierry Breton.

Mr Jin recalled that the People's Bank of China in July scrapped the arrangement under which the yuan was fixed in a narrow range around 8.28 to the US dollar.

Instead, a "managed floating exchange rate system" based on a basket of currencies was introduced and the yuan was revalued by about 2.1 per cent against the dollar.

"It is a very important step to go forward," Mr Jin said, adding that "it's a gradual process".