Exchange rate kept stable against all odds

China had "good reason" to depreciate its currency during the global financial crisis as exports fell and chose instead to keep the yuan stable, central bank Deputy Governor Zhu Min said.

"We took the same policy as we did in the Asian financial crisis; we decided to stabilize the renminbi exchange rate," Zhu said at a forum in Beijing yesterday. Exchange rates aren't likely to play a "key role in rebalancing" the global economy, he said.

The People's Bank of China has kept the renminbi effectively pegged to the US dollar since July last year. Premier Wen Jiabao last month rebuffed Europe's calls for the currency to strengthen.