China's yuan posted one of its strongest single-day gains against the dollar on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Chinese president's White House summit, as the US currency retreated on global markets.
The yuan closed at 8.0135 to the dollar versus 8.0240 on Tuesday, after the central bank set its mid-point rate at a stronger 8.0128 from 8.0140 the previous trading day.
The gain marked a 0.13 percent strengthening, one of the currency's strongest for a single day since China revalued the yuan last July and freed it from a dollar peg to float within managed bands.
On the global front, the dollar hit a 7-month low against the euro on Wednesday, extending losses made after minutes of the Federal Reserve's March meeting suggested dollar-supportive US interest rates were close to a peak.
But critics in Washington have been pushing for a faster ascent of the Chinese currency, with US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick complaining that Beijing had been "agonisingly slow" in meeting US demands.
Critics say an undervalued yuan gives China an unfair export edge and fuels its trade surplus, which jumped to $11.2 billion in March from $2.45 billion in February.