The offshore yuan strengthened to around 6.69 per dollar on Friday, extending gains from the previous session and reaching its strongest level since July 2022. The move followed a firmer daily fixing from the People’s Bank of China, which set the midpoint at 6.7521 per dollar, compared with 6.7580 on Thursday. The fixing showed an upward bias for an eighth consecutive session, the longest such run since 2023. The pattern suggested the central bank may be increasingly comfortable with a stronger yuan ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the US on September 24. A stronger currency could ease some trade tensions by addressing Western officials’ concerns that an undervalued yuan gives Chinese exporters a competitive advantage. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is also scheduled to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend.