BEIJING - China's premier on Sunday rejected foreign pressure to let its currency rise and complained that trade protectionism by other governments was holding back the country's development.

The complaint by Premier Wen Jiabao, China's top economic official, came as the plunge in consumer demand caused by the global crisis is aggravating disputes between China and trading partners including the United States and Europe over access to markets for tires, shoes and other goods.

A key irritant is Beijing's currency controls, which Washington and other governments say keep its yuan undervalued, giving China's exporters an unfair price advantage and swelling its politically volatile trade surplus.