The Chinese government will ensure that the yuan remains stable to help the country's foreign trade.

The currency edged up against the United States dollar last week to end at 6.8334 on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The yuan ended at 6.8370 at the end of the previous week.

Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday at a press conference that other countries can't exert pressure on China over the appreciation or depreciation of the yuan.

The yuan has weakened 0.2 percent against the US dollar since the beginning of this year and is likely to fluctuate within a narrow range in the near future.

China's exports in February tumbled a record 25.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

(Shanghai Daily March 16, 2009)