BEIJING, January 9 – RIA Novosti. The People’s Bank of China (CB) started the week by strengthening the national currency amid the lifting of covid restrictions for those entering from abroad, with the yuan exchange rate at 6.8265 yuan per dollar on Monday, according to the regulator’s website.

On Monday, the yuan’s average exchange rate against the dollar jumped 647 basis points to 6.8265 – the highest level since August 22, 2022.

In March last year, Chinese officials announced their intention to keep the yuan’s stable exchange rate at a rational and balanced level this year and to implement a prudent monetary policy.

Since the beginning of December 2022, Chinese authorities have been gradually easing the measures to combat the coronavirus infection, which has been among the strictest measures in the world for three years. Mandatory PCR testing at country entrances and central isolation for those arriving in China have been canceled since 8 January. At the same time, an unprecedented increase in the incidence of COVID-19 is observed in the country, people with asymptomatic or mild form of the disease can be treated at home, only patients with severe conditions are taken to hospitals. But even that was enough to overload the healthcare system, with hospitals in major cities overcrowded.