BEIJING — The Chinese currency strengthened to its strongest level in nearly two months against the US dollar on Thursday following the fall of the greenback overnight.

The central parity rate of the yuan strengthened by 289 basis points to 6.8651 against the greenback Thursday, the strongest level since February 17, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In an interview with Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that his administration would not label China as a currency manipulator, and complained the US dollar was getting too strong.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, came under heavy selling pressure following Trump's comments.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.