BEIJING (Reuters) - It is not wise for the US to point its finger at the yuan's exchange rate and demand appreciation, the Chinese foreign ministry said yesterday.

"Recently, there are some discordant voices in the US criticising the yuan exchange rate, and saying it (the US) would adopt any possible means to press for yuan appreciation. It is unwise and also near-sighted," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

"The trade imbalance between China and the US is not decided by exchange rate but by globalisation. Yuan appreciation can not solve the US trade deficit, on which the Americans have also reached consensus."

The yuan yesterday rose for ninth straight day and broke the important level of 6.70 per dollar for the first time since its revaluation in 2005 following strong criticism from US President Barack Obama about China's currency policy.

The US, a major currency issuer, should instead focus on its own economic recovery and put its fiscal house in order to help maintain stability of its own currency, it said.

China has been trying to boost its imports from the US, but the latter must relax its restrictions on high-tech sales to China, it said.

The government's policy to boost domestic demand to reduce the economy's reliance on exports were working, it added.

The ministry added that domestic expectations for yuan appreciation were not strong, and that a stronger currency would do little to resolve the Sino-US bilateral trade imbalance.

The yuan has rallied for nine straight days amid strong criticism from the US about China's currency policy.