* Obama says yuan undervalued, needs to rise further
* Hu ignores yuan, stresses G20, global uncertainty
* Obama: yuan just one part of the U.S.-China "problem"
By Alister Bull
WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao gave no clues on Wednesday about the future of the yuan, ignoring the hot-button topic during a press conference at which U.S. President Barack Obama pressed him to let the yuan rise.
Obama spoke quite bluntly, given the delicate diplomatic setting, and said the yuan was still undervalued, despite being allowed to edge up against the dollar in recent months.
Obama also said Hu had indicated a desire to move toward a market-based exchange rate system, and the United States was confident he would achieve this goal.
Hu pointedly did not comment at all on the yuan, much less on Obama's characterization of his currency plans. He listened impassively to a translation of Obama's remarks and when he spoke, chose instead to emphasize the role of the Group of 20 in tackling financial matters, while noting the global economy was slowly recovering but still faced uncertainty.
G20, CRISIS -- CODED REBUKE?
Hu's remarks deftly draw attention to a financial crisis that began in the United States and delivered a subtle rebuke to Washington for presuming to lecture China about the global economy.
In highlighting the G20, Hu indicated Washington had less leverage with Beijing. China, together with Germany, are reckoned by analysts to have done a good job in beating back Washington's push for aggressive targets on balancing global trade during a November summit of G20 leaders in Seoul.
WILL THE YUAN RISE FASTER?
No way to tell from this news conference. The only thing that matters is what happens in the coming months.
Besides, expectations had always been low for a big Chinese announcement on the currency, given significant obstacles back in China for any change that will hit the competitiveness of an export industry that employs millions of Chinese.
Obama said during the press conference that Hu had voiced exactly this concern about the impact of an excessively rapid yuan rise.
In addition, even if Hu wants to allow the yuan to rise faster, he can hardly been seen to bow to U.S. pressure while being hosted by Obama at a state visit to the United States.
ANY SURPRISES?
Not really. Hu had been expected to stick to his bland, vague talking points and did so with much discipline.
Obama might have been more outspoken on the yuan than anticipated in such proximity to the Chinese leader, but the remarks go no further than those of his ministers in the days before the visit.
Obama also acknowledged the currency was just one part of the economic issues facing China and the United States, effectively playing down the yuan issue somewhat alongside concerns over the theft of intellectual property rights and market access. (Editing by Frances Kerry)