China, which for the first time joined a meeting of top officials from the Group of Seven countries this week, has no immediate plans to enter the rich nations' club, its finance minister said on Saturday.

 

"We have no immediate plans to join the G7," Finance Minister Jin Renqing told a small group of Chinese reporters.

 

"We are here to promote mutual understanding, our ability to participate in the world's economic affairs and our interests," he said, adding that China was interested in continuing the high-level dialogue.

 

Jin added that Beijing attended the G7 gathering because of its rising economic power, a comment that appeared aimed at dispelling speculation China was invited only because Western powers wanted to lecture it on currency matters.

 

During meetings in Washington, China reiterated its pledge to move toward a more flexible currency but gave no timetable for relinquishing the yuan's tight peg to the U.S. dollar.

 

Beijing holds the yuan at about 8.28 to the dollar, a policy that U.S. manufacturers and labor groups have complained gives Chinese producers an unfair edge.

 

Jin and central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan attended a dinner with their counterparts from the G7 countries on Friday, discussing topics including oil prices, the economic outlook and currencies.

 

Top officials from the elite economic club also expressed concern that China may be consuming too many raw materials as it heavily invests in infrastructure to spur economic growth. China and the United States are the world's top oil consumers.

 

In comments on Friday, Zhou said fast-growing China, the world's most populous nation and the seventh-largest economy, was still a developing country and would keep that in mind when talking with G7 countries.

 

"We have long said that we will represent not only ours, but other developing countries' interests," Zhou said.

 

(China Daily October 3, 2004)