ROME, July 5 (Reuters) - Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei said on Sunday the U.S. dollar would continue to be the world's leading reserve currency for years to come.

"The U.S. dollar is still the most important and major reserve currency of the day, and we believe that that situation will continue for many years to come," He told a news briefing in Rome before this week's Group of Eight summit.

Beijing has floated the idea of an alternative to the dollar as world reserve currency and wants the topic broached at the summit starting in Italy on Wednesday. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi, editing by Mark Trevelyan)