LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Future purchases of U.S. Treasuries by China will depend on its need to maintain the value and security of its foreign investments, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Saturday.
China is the single biggest foreign holder of Treasuries, with $681.9 billion as of November, according to U.S. data.
"In recent years, our foreign reserves have been growing very fast, buying U.S. Treasuries to ensure diversity is a major part of it," Wen said at an event in London.
"Whether we will continue to buy U.S. Treasuries, how much we will buy, depends on our own need for maintaining the value of our foreign reserve investments and keeping them secure."
Wen also said keeping China's currency at a steady level was in everybody's interests. The United States expressed concern this month that China was depressing the value of the yuan to boost its exports.
"In the face of the financial crisis, maintaining the stability of the yuan exchange rate is in the interest of China and the world economy," Wen said. (Reporting by Daisy Ku, Writing by Matt Falloon; Editing by Charles Dick)