Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, said on Sunday that instead of a speedy revaluation, he would prefer to see a gradual rise in the price of the Chinese yuan. He feels that that would be more helpful.

He expressed these views in the World Economic Forum in Jakarta. China has said that it would use its entire means to fight the high inflation, which in turn has been partly brought about by the surging prices of global commodities. It is expected that the yuan will rise by 5-6 per cent this year.

Research by a Chinese Central Bank showed that the yuan was likely to rise at about 3-5 per cent as against the dollar in the coming few years. But the same research says that the door would be shut on a one-off revaluation. While Lee acknowledged the fact that the politics over the issue were complicated but did not hesitate to say that a stronger yuan would help the country redirect its economy away from export oriented growth.