China yesterday warned off speculators scenting that further rises in the yuan were an easy bet, saying last week's 2.1 per cent revaluation of the yuan did not mean more adjustments in the currency would follow.

Foreign media reports describing the long-awaited move as an "initial adjustment" to the exchange rate were incorrect, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said in a statement.

The revaluation of the yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB), was simply the first step in reform of the whole currency regime.

"It does not mean that the renminbi was adjusted by two per cent as an initial step, with further adjustments to come later," the central bank said on its website (http://www.pbc.gov.cn).

The statement appeared aimed at clarifying remarks by central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan on Saturday describing the move as an "initial adjustment".

The statement also appeared targeted at warding off speculators and avoiding the impression that the yuan was a one-way bet on further appreciation, said Yiping Huang, an economist with Citigroup in Hong Kong.

"The yuan/dollar rate can go either way," Mr Huang said.

The statement, which also stressed that reforming the foreign exchange regime would be a gradual process, showed the central bank trying to guide expectations, a task that will become more common as it gradually allows more currency flexibility.

"The authorities would be keen to observe the response from the financial markets and various sectors of the economy for the moment, and to manage market expectations about further moves in the meantime," JP Morgan economists Frank Gong and Grace Ng wrote in a report.

"In any case, following such a major policy move as the RMB regime change last week, it will always be a big challenge for any central bank, the PBoC included, to manage market expectations."

The central bank said the new level of 8.11 to the dollar, up from the virtually fixed rate near 8.28 that had held for the previous eight years, reflected the equilibrium level - the rate that balances supply and demand, driven by the fundamentals of the economy.

The central bank said the size of the revaluation was based mainly on what was needed to adjust the trade surplus.

After opening unchanged at 8.1097 to the dollar yesterday, the yuan officially closed hardly changed at 8.1099.

Non-deliverable forwards, offshore financial instruments used by foreign investors to bet on the future value of the yuan, slipped after the central bank statement.

The one-year contract showed the yuan at 7.735 per dollar, weaker than 7.65 yuan on Monday and reflecting expectations for a rise of about 4.8 per cent in 12 months.

State media reports seen earlier yesterday also suggested that Beijing would hold out against letting the yuan climb further despite forecasts that China's trade surplus will more than double to top $80 billion this year.

In his first public remarks since last week's revaluation, President Hu Jintao said China would maintain stable fiscal and monetary policy and promote basic balance in its international trade position, state television said.

China would also raise agricultural productivity and grain output to keep grain prices stable, it quoted Mr Hu as telling non-Communist Party organisations in a meeting.

Beijing would maintain macro-economic controls, but make slight adjustments at the appropriate time, he said without elaborating.

China would also push ahead with wide-ranging reforms including those related to taxation, state firms and the financial sector, he said.

The International Business Daily newspaper quoted Huo Jianguo, vice-director of the Commerce Ministry's foreign trade department, as saying that exports this year would grow by more than 25 per cent. Export growth would slow slightly in the second half of this year, while import growth would pick up a bit, he was quoted as telling a seminar. June's exports were 30.6 per cent higher than a year earlier, while imports were up just 15.1 per cent. Yi Gang, an assistant central bank governor, joined other Chinese officials in pledging yuan stability.

"We are fully capable of keeping the yuan basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level," Mr Yi was quoted as saying in the July 25 edition of Caijing, a semi-official magazine.