China Premier says China can't devalue yuan to aid exports

[BEIJING] It will not be easy for China to grow its economy by 7 per cent this year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was quoted by the Financial Times as saying on Thursday, a day after data showed economic growth hit a six-year low in the first quarter.

Mr Li was also quoted as saying that China cannot rely on devaluing its currency to lift sales of Chinese exports, and that Beijing does not want to see any further devaluation in the yuan.

And while China is on the receiving end of deflation due to falling global commodity prices, China is not in deflation, Mr Li told the Financial Times.

On Wednesday, China reported that annual growth in January-February was 7 per cent, compared with 7.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2014.

REUTERS