Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- China’s government said its policy toward its currency, the yuan, or renminbi, will be “proactive, controllable and gradual.”

China aims to “improve the RMB exchange rate mechanism to give full play to the role of supply and demand and the role of the market so as to maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate on a reasonable and balanced level,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular briefing in Beijing today.

“At the same time, we need to increase the flexibility of the RMB exchange rate,” he said in response to a question from a reporter.

U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview with the Reuters news organization that he plans to bring up the currency issue with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao next week in Beijing.

In its semi-annual report to Congress last month, the U.S. Treasury Department criticized China for the “lack of flexibility” of the yuan and a buildup of foreign-exchange reserves, while stopping short of branding the country a currency manipulator. The report called on China to “pursue policies that permit greater flexibility of the exchange rate and lead to more sustainable and balanced economic growth.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Forsythe in Washington at mforsythe@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 02:47 EST