Recent reforms to China's currency regime do not represent a one-off adjustment, China's central bank chief said in remarks published on August 29, repeating a commitment to gradually make the exchange rate more flexible.

    Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of People's Bank of China, also said the managed floating exchange rate the Chinese Government put in place last month would pave the way for a market-driven system.

    "I think it's very clear that China is introducing a new exchange rate mechanism. It is not a one-time adjustment," Zhou said on the sidelines of the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

    Zhou said the initial 2.1 percent revaluation July 21 to 8.11 per U.S. dollar might seem small, "but the important thing is that it has started to float and over time market forces will play a more and more important role."

    The government has often said China is moving toward greater flexibility in its exchange rate, and speculation was rife Friday that another revaluation was in the offing.

    The central bank quashed the rumors, but traders said markets would be alert to the possibility that China would permit the yuan to rise a bit quicker in the run-up to President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States next month.

    U.S. lawmakers applauded July's move but said it did not go far enough to correct what they see as a substantial undervaluation of the yuan.