The Chinese yuan hit a record high against the U.S. dollar on December 31, 2013.

The yuan strengthened 55 basis points to reach 6.0969 per U.S. dollar, the strongest since July 2005, when the country launched the reform of the exchange rate mechanism, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

The value of the yuan has risen nearly 3 percent against the U.S. dollar since the start of 2013.

In China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 1 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices before the opening of each market each business day.