The yuan is expected to depreciate modestly against the dollar this year, after the real effective exchange rate of the renminbi recorded the biggest gain last year since the start of the financial crisis.

That's the key point in the annual exchange rate index compiled by Shanghai-based Fudan University.

The yuan rose 2.72 percent against the dollar in 2013, while the Chinese currency's real effective exchange rate climbed 8.38 percent year-on-year, said Chen Xuebin, associate dean of Fudan University's Institute for Financial Studies.