Full coverage: 2016 NPC & CPPCC Sessions

China has been pursuing the reform of the RMB exchange rate in accordance with its economic development bank for decades. A dual-track currency system was first instituted in 1978. RMB could be only used domestically then. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, RMB became more convertible. The exchange rate was brought to realistic levels through the use of swap centres, and the dual-track currency system was abolished.

The country has maintained a fixed exchange rate for RMB relative to the US dollar since 1994. China initiated reforms in July 2005 by depegging the yuan from the US dollar. The central bank PBOC said it had shifted to "a managed floating exchange rate based on market supply and demand with reference to a basket of weighted currencies."

This year's government work report said China will keep the RMB exchange rate generally stable while continuing with reforms of exchange rate liberalization. China will also continue to improve the market-based mechanism for setting the RMB exchange rate.