BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese yuan strengthened to a record high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday to reach 6.6128 per dollar.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency, also known as the renminbi (RMB), was set 88 basis points lower than Tuesday's 6.6216, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

China's central bank announced on June 19, 2010, it would further reform the yuan exchange rate formation mechanism to improve its flexibility.

On China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan can rise or fall 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the RMB against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of enquired prices from all market makers before the opening of the market each business day.