BEIJING, Dec. 18-- China's foreign exchange regulator expressed concerns over the recent devaluation of the Russian ruble on Thursday, but confirmed it was tracking the situation.

Chinese enterprises and financial institutions should use forward and swap facilities to avoid risks, said a senior official at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Wang Yungui, during a press conference in Beijing.

The ruble plummeted to a historic low two days ago before a moderate recovery that saw it stabilize at 100 rubles to 10.27 yuan (1.65 U.S. dollars) on Thursday.

Wang noted that the situation had not affected transnational capital flow in China but the situation would continue to be assessed.

China and Russia, Wang said, were close trade partners and healthy bilateral trade was expected to continue.

China's exports to Russia increased 10.5 percent year on year and imports 2.9 percent in the first three quarters of the year, with total trade volume valued at 70.78 billion dollars.