China will not reform the exchange rate of the renminbi (RMB) while hot speculations are piled on the Chinese currency, said Premier Wen Jiabao in Vientiane Sunday.

Chinese monetary policy experts have estimated that up to US$30 billion of so-called "hot money" has thronged to China’s inland cities and Hong Kong, buying Chinese RMB yuan, in its gamble that China’s central bank will in the coming months raise the price of its currency.

The Chinese Government is taking four factors into consideration when dealing with reforms to the RMB, Wen told reporters after meeting with leaders attending the ongoing meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The first is that any changes must meet certain conditions, and the most important is a stable macro-economic environment, a sound market mechanism and a healthy financial system.

The second is that there must be an appropriate plan to keep the RMB stable at a "reasonable and balanced" level, said Wen, adding that the flexibility of RMB must be increased.

The third factor relates to the timing of any policy."To be honest, the more speculations are made in society (about RMB), the less chance we will take the measure (to change RMB)," said Wen.

The last is that China will take into consideration the influence of RMB reform on China's economy as well as the economies in the region and the world.

"China is a responsible country. In the financial crisis in 1997, we kept the stability of the RMB and made due contributions," said Wen, adding China will not only be responsible for benefits to the Chinese people, but also for the whole world.

(China Daily)

speculation: an investment that is very risky but could yield great profits（投機買賣）