China said Thursday it had taken note of a U.S. report stating that the Chinese government did not manipulate the exchange rate of the yuan.

"We will continue reform of the renminbi exchange rate mechanism," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference. She was responding to a question concerning the U.S. statement.

The U.S. government said Wednesday that no major trading partner had been found to be manipulating its exchange rate to gain an unfair trade advantage.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made the remarks in a statement accompanying the release of the department's semi-annual "Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies."

The report came after Geithner was reported to have said, during his Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year, that U.S. President Barack Obama believed China was manipulating its currency.

Jiang Yu said that China would strive to keep the rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level. Such a policy was in the interest of not only China, but also the world economy, she noted.

As to the issue of China buying U.S. treasury bonds, Jiang said that the management of China's foreign exchange reserves were always conducted according to the principle of guaranteeing the "safety, liquidity and good value" of its foreign exchange reserves and diversifying the investment portfolio.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2009)