BEIJING - The yuan strengthened to a record high against the US dollar on the first trading day of the year, to reach 6.6215 per dollar.

The central parity rate of the currency, also known as the renminbi (RMB), was set 12 basis points lower than Friday's 6.6227, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading system Tuesday.

China's central bank announced on June 19, 2010, it would further reform the yuan exchange rate formation mechanism to improve its flexibility.

On China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan can rise or fall 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of enquired prices from all market makers before the opening of the market each business day.