NANJING - A vice-head of China's central bank disputed on Thursday a link between the convertibility of the yuan and its inclusion in the basket that forms the Special Drawing Right, or SDR.

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The remarks by Yi Gang counter comments by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who said the yuan has to be a freely-floating currency before it can be considered as a SDR currency.

Separately, Zhou Xiaochuan, China's central bank governor, said the yuan has gained higher acceptance in Asia than in the rest of the world.

The remarks by Yi, Zhou and Trichet were made at a G20 currency meeting in Nanjing.

China, the largest foreign owner of US Treasuries, has been pushing for a greater role of the SDR in international commerce in the hope of reducing its reliance on the US dollar.