BEIJING - The French Finance Minister Francois Baroin on Friday thanked China for supporting the eurozone during its difficult period, but also indicated that the currency of the world's second-largest economy should be further liberalized.

"We hope eventually the yuan's convertibility can accord with the extent of the openness of the economy and its global position," Baroin told reporters at a news briefing in Beijing after meeting with the Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, the Finance Minister Xie Xuren, the Central Bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Liu Mingkang, the chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

A special working group was established to deal with issues related to the yuan's inclusion in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights currency basket, said Baroin.

In addition to talking about the road map for China to liberalize its currency, the two sides also discussed the newly introduced austerity measures to cut the fiscal deficit in France and the shift of China's economic growth pattern, he said.

The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced on Wednesday that his government has reduced its growth forecast for 2011 from 2 percent to 1.75 percent, and has introduced additional austerity measures worth 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) for 2011 and 11 billion euros for 2012, aiming to cut next year's public deficit to 4.5 percent of GDP.

These measures require approval from the French parliament. Baroin said he is confident about French economic growth, given the country's diversified economic structure and relatively higher deposit ratio compared with other European countries. "And we have already taken measures to reform the pension system. French bonds will still be safe."

China's president Hu Jintao said on Thursday that the nation is still confident about the European economy and emphasized that the continent is a significant investment partner, when he met his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Beijing.

China Daily