* Says yuan exchange rate a "very secondary" issue
* Inflows of "hot money" into China a problem
* Forecasts 8-9 pct growth for China economy in 2010 (Adds background)
By Deborah Kan and Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - China's decision on whether to resume appreciation of the yuan is complicated as it will be made by the State Council, Fan Gang, a member of the People's Bank of China's monetary policy committee, told Reuters on Wednesday.
He also said speculative capital inflows were a problem for China, sparking a rise in bill and bond yields in expectation that monetary policy may now be more geared to dealing with the risk of asset bubbles.
Outside pressure has been building on China to let the yuan rise after more than a year of it being nearly frozen in place against the dollar, with U.S. President Barack Obama pushing for change in the controversial currency policy during a visit to Beijing this week.
The central bank last week tweaked its description of how it handles the currency, setting off a wave of speculation that it might be willing to loosen the reins on the yuan.
While the yuan non-deliverable forwards market has priced in appreciation of about 3.2 percent in the next 12 months, Chinese officials have played down expectations for the yuan to rise.
For his part, Fan said in an interview with Reuters Insider television in Hong Kong that he did not know whether the currency would be allowed to trend higher.
"(Policymakers) are watching the situation, they are balancing all the factors. For China, the decision-making system is more complicated," he said.
The central bank governor is just one member of the State Council, China's cabinet.
Asian exporters have a significant stake in Beijing's decisions over the yuan given the country's dominance of so many export markets.
The currency was effectively repegged to the dollar in the middle of 2008 to help the country's exporters and cement financial stability during the global crisis.
Chinese exports were still weak and there was significant unemployment, Fan said. However, he suggested external pressure on China to push up the value of the yuan, also known as the renminbi, was less forceful than before the global financial meltdown.
"People understand now that the problem of revaluation of the Chinese renminbi is caused partly by the dollar's devaluation. So the pressure on China is not as big as before the crisis," he said.
In terms of addressing global imbalances, however, he said the exchange rate was a "very secondary" issue.
Structural factors were more important, including increasing consumption in China and savings in the United States as well as the need to control the U.S. budget deficit.
"HOT MONEY"
The United States also needed to address how to raise interest rates to curb excess global liquidity and rein in volatility in the dollar, he said.
Speculative capital inflows, or "hot money", into China had become a problem, Fan said, adding that he was pushing for the introduction of a property tax in China to head off the risk of asset bubbles.
Chinese bill and bond yields mostly rose after Fan's remarks on the risk of an asset price bubble in China..
A property tax would be difficult to implement, although the city of Shenzhen was considering it, Fan said.
Speaking earlier at a forum, Fan cited surging property prices in cities such as Shenzhen in warning of the risk of asset bubbles.
"That is something we really need to watch. For an economy like China, an asset bubble is something very dangerous."
However, property prices nationwide were not "crazy", Fan added. Average prices in 70 cites were up 3.9 percent in October from a year earlier, government figures show.
In contrast, inflation was unlikely to be a problem for the foreseeable future given overcapacity, he said.
Fan forecast China's economy could grow by 8-9 percent in 2010, adding that annual growth of 7-9 percent was optimum as it avoided high inflation or deflation.
"Certainly next year the effectiveness of the government stimulus package, the effect on the growth rate, may decline, naturally," he said.
"I believe 8-9 percent growth will continue. I don't believe China will have a double dip."
If the economy could settle into a rhythm of 7-9 percent growth, it could keep up that pace for 20 years, he said.
However, the savings rate, at 52 percent of GDP in 2008, needs to come down ideally to 40 percent, he said. He sees it falling to only 45-47 percent within five years but says that would still be good progress. (Additional Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Neil Fullick) (susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)