China's central bank says it plans to keep the Chinese yuan "stable" and there will be no immediate revaluation of the currency.
The comments come just a day after the bank announced plans to make the exchange rate more flexible.
But Chinese authorities have ruled out a large, one-off adjustment in the exchange rate.
China has come under increasing international pressure to change its currency policy.
The US in particular has complained that China is artificially keeping the value of the yuan low to help its exporters at the expense of foreign competitors.
On Saturday, US President Barack Obama welcomed China's promise of increased flexibility in exchange rates, but the Chinese central bank's latest comments cast doubt over the scale of its plans.
"There is at present no basis for major fluctuation or change in the [yuan] exchange rate," the bank's website said.
The "basic stability" of the currency would be maintained, it added, and keeping the yuan at a "reasonable, balanced level" would help ensure economic stability.
"The management and adjustment of the [yuan] exchange rate needs to be done in a gradual way."
China has effectively pegged the yuan to the US dollar for the last two years.
In 2005, it briefly allowed a controlled appreciation of the currency, but ended that policy when the global economic crisis threatened demand for its goods abroad.
The yuan has stayed at around 6.83 yuan to $1 since then, and would be expected to rise higher given a totally free exchange rate.
According to the BBC's Chris Hogg in Shanghai, analysts expect the yuan to appreciate slowly - by around 0.2% a month - in line with a recovery in demand from Europe.
China's currency policy was expected to be high on the agenda at the G20 summit to be held in Toronto later this month.
