China's currency, the yuan, hit a new high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, according to the Chinese Foreign Exchange Trading System.

The central parity rate of the yuan, known as Renminbi (RMB), stood at 7.3647 yuan to one U.S. dollar, gaining 150 basis points from Tuesday's reference rate of 7.3797.

The RMB has appreciated about 11 percent since China depegged it to the U.S. dollar in July 2005.

The sharp rise in the RMB reference rate came as China and the U.S. opened third bilateral Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing on Wednesday when yuan appreciation is expected to become a topic.

Some U.S. critics said that China's yuan are undervalued, which gives China's exporters an unfair price advantage and is a main reason for the massive trade imbalance between China and the U.S.

China's trade surplus soared 52.2 percent year-on-year to 238.13 billion U.S. dollars during Jan.-Nov. period, the General Administration of Customs said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday the RMB also appreciated against other major currencies. The central parity rate of yuan stood at 10.8000 and 15.0026 to one euro and pound respectively, up from 10.8566 and 15.1018 on Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2007)