Chinese economists said they believed the recent yuan devaluation was caused by “objective factors,” but the currency’s long-term trend should not face a reversion, as strategic China-U.S. economic talks opened here Thursday.

China’s currency weakened on Thursday. The yuan traded at 6.8837 per U.S. dollar as of 14:30 p.m. on over-the-counter market, from 6.8830 on Wednesday. It dropped to as low as 6.8845 per U.S. dollar in the morning.

The central parity rate of the yuan was 6.8502 yuan to the U.S. dollar on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System, the same as Wednesday.

The yuan’s central parity rate is based on a weighted average of market makers’ price inquiries before the market opens on each business day. The rate is allowed to fluctuate within a band of 0.5 percent on either side of the mid-point.

The State Council, or the Cabinet, said it would use a series of means, including reserve requirement ratios, interest rates and foreign exchange rates to ensure ample liquidity for the banking system.

The Cabinet announced the decision late Wednesday at an executive meeting, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao. Last month, it has unveiled a 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus package, which aimed to offset adverse global economic conditions by boosting domestic demand.

The statement came amid market speculation that the yuan might depreciate against the U.S. dollar to help aid exports, which was battered by slackening external demand.

The yuan’s reference rate has gained more than 6 percent against the greenback this year, but it was up less than 0.1 percent in the second half.

A “slight and mild” yuan depreciation was necessary because the currency has appreciated too fast since its peg to the dollar ended in July 2005, said Hua Min, department chief of world economy with Shanghai-based Fudan University.

A weaker yuan could help boost exports during the crisis, Hua said.

Tan Yaling, a research analyst with the Bank of China, believed the recent movement of the yuan was “normal and rational” market behavior as the currency has gained nearly 20 percent against the U.S. dollar since July in 2005.

However, the possibility of a periodic depreciation could not be ruled out, said Ding Zhijie, deputy dean of the finance school with the University of International Business and Economics.

According to Ding, the depreciation pressure came from the strengthening U.S. dollar and concerns about downward pressure on the economy as the financial crisis, which has evolved into an economic crisis, weighed on the economy.

A steep depreciation would not be possible currently, forecast China Academy of Social Sciences economist Liu Yuhui, which was likely to cause a range of negative impacts, including increasing capital outflow and deteriorating trade friction and protectionism.

Thursday also marked the first day of the fifth China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue. A range of economic issues would be discussed, including the U.S. economy’s recession and China’s reduced economic growth.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and the U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson co-chaired the opening dialogue on Thursday morning.

Beijing has called on Washington to stabilize its precarious economy and protect its investments in America as the two sides opened strategic economic dialogues, which is overshadowed by the churning crisis of the global economy.

“We hope the US side will take the necessary measures to stabilize the economy and financial markets, as well as to guarantee the safety of China’s assets and investments in the United States,” Vice Premier Wang Qishan told US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other US officials at the Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing.

China is a major owner of US Treasury debt that finances Washington’s budget deficit. The US dollar’s recent weakness and the financial turmoil there have fueled Chinese anxiety about the safety of such holdings, analysts said.

Vice President Xi Jinping on Thursday said keeping China’s economy growing amid the global financial crisis would test the competence of government leaders.

At a two-day meeting that started on Wednesday, attended by about 10 provincial leaders, Xi urged government officials to find ways to sustain steady, rapid economic growth.

Government leaders should integrate their study and practice with ways to tackle the financial crisis and implement central policies on domestic demand expansion and boost economic growth, he said.

The official said leaders’ competence and confidence to solve conflicts and problems should be strengthened and tested through practice.

Leaders’ study and research should have a clear objective and theoretical studies should be reflected in the ability to promote development and social harmony.

China, the world’s fourth-largest economy, has started to feel the impact of the global financial crisis.

Migrant workers, most of whom left farms to seek work in the cities, have started to retreat from the country’s better-off coastal provinces and large cities as economic conditions worsen.

Economic growth hit a five-year low in the third quarter with a rate of 9 percent. And the World Bank recently forecast that growth would fall to 7.5 percent next year because of the world downturn.