The People's Bank of China, the central bank, said late on Thursday that the country will allow the market to "play a bigger role in deciding the exchange rate of the yuan and increase the currency's resilience against the dollar".

Analysts said that the yuan will become more flexible against the dollar, although it is expected to remain largely stable.

The central bank expressed its views through its Shanghai Head Office, which published the China Financial Market Development Report 2016 on its website.