"We have the confidence, conditions and ability to stabilise the overall price level," he said.
Beijing has previously come under pressure over its currency from the US, which has accused China of manipulating the yuan to help boost Chinese exports.
On Sunday night, three Democratic senators announced they would introduce a new bill to increase penalties the US considers to be "currency manipulators".
However, the move is unlikely to receive support from senior Republicans - who recently took control of the House of Representatives.
The new House speaker, John Boehner, voted against another bill that failed last year that would have helped US companies challenge currency subsidies.
Currency reservations
Despite criticism of the current system, Mr Hu said he believed it would be a long time before the yuan - or renminbi (RMB) - was accepted as a global currency.
"China has made important contribution to the world economy in terms of total economic output and trade, and the RMB has played a role in the world economic development," he said.
"But making the RMB an international currency will be a fairly long process."
Some economists suggest that China's growth strategy - with its focus on exports and state-led investment - may be incompatible with Mr Hu's currency ambitions.
In order for the yuan to oust the dollar as a global reserve currency, international central banks and investors would need to be able to get their hands on huge amounts of the currency.
Yet neither of the ways in which China could supply the world with more yuan is at all appealing to Beijing, according to Michael Pettis, economist at Beijing University.
He says the country could start running big trade deficits with the rest of the world - just as the US has been doing - and finance them by selling their currency to their trade partners.