The yuan picked up speed to end higher last week at 6.8801 against the US dollar on the China Foreign Exchange Trading System on Friday.

This was a rise from 6.9018 a week earlier. The yuan has gained about 6 percent so far this year, compared with a 6.9-percent gain in 2007.

United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Wednesday he urged visiting top Chinese officials to continue letting the yuan rise in value. China reiterated that reform of the yuan exchange rate remains a gradual process.

Zhu Guangyao, China's assistant finance minister, said currency reform "should be based on our own terms, on a controllable basis and on a graduate track."

The yuan has gained about 20 percent against the greenback since Beijing revamped its foreign exchange trading system in July 2005, revaluing the currency by 2.1 percent to 8.11 yuan to one US dollar.

(Shanghai Daily June 23, 2008)