Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday rejected "unfair" calls from European countries for faster reform of China's currency policies, despite lobbying from EU financial chiefs at the weekend.

"Some countries demand the yuan's appreciation while practicing various trade protectionism against China. It's unfair and actually limits China's development," Wen told reporters in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, were also at the press conference.