Vice Finance Minister Li Yong ruled out Friday that China will adopt a floating currency system in the near future.?

Speaking at the 38th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Istanbul, Li said there is no timetable now for China to adopt a floating currency system since the upward pressure is not strong.

 

"I feel the pressure is not from the outside but from domestic needs," he said. "Establishing market mechanisms and financial sector reforms are prerequisites for floating RMB."

 

China will take into account the impact of any RMB reform on regional and global economies, he said.

 

"I urge them not to do such speculation (on a possible revaluation of the RMB). They need patience," Li said, adding China shares other countries' concern about imbalances that threaten the world economy.

 

He said the nation will spend part of its foreign exchange reserves?on supporting its financial reforms. "China will spend the necessary resources to support reforms," Li said, citing China's past decision to inject capital into state-run banks as examples.

 

"One big concern to me is that too much hot money is flowing into China," Li said. However, a soft landing is "certainly achievable," he added.

 

"China will strengthen and improve macro-economic management and will continue its macro-economic adjustment, which is so important for a steady growth," he said.

 

About 3,000 delegates from ADB members, private financial groups and nongovernmental organizations attended the three-day meeting, which concluded Friday.

 

ADB's performance in 2004 and coordination efforts of member states in aid projects were major issues discussed at the meeting.

 

The 63-member ADB is a pan-Asian multilateral financial institution that lends aid funds to developing countries in Asia with a platform to reduce poverty in the world's largest and most populous continent.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2005)