Wen rejects yuan appreciation call

NANJING, China, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao rejected a call from the European Union for appreciation of the yuan, terming the plea unfair.

EU financial heads, concerned about the rise in the value of the Euro, which is hurting their exports, sought to convince Chinese leaders about the need for yuan appreciation during the weekend China-EU Summit in Nanjing in Jiangsu province.

"Some countries demand the yuan's appreciation while practicing various trade protectionism against China. It's unfair and actually limits China's development," China Daily quoted Wen as telling reporters Monday.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, were also were present at the media briefing.

The summit produced five agreements, mainly on energy and environmental cooperation. But there was little headway on the rising trade conflicts between the two sides as Europe seeks to reduce its trade deficits with China.

Wen said China will keep the yuan basically stable and carry out currency reform at its own, gradual pace, stressing a stable yuan is good for both China and the global economy, the newspaper said.

China insists the yuan has been appreciating against major currencies since it introduced exchange rate reforms in July 2005. But critics say the yuan needs to appreciate faster.

Zhao Junjie at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told China Daily the communist country has made efforts to address the trade gap with EU by buying more European goods "only for the sake of the EU."