(Recasts with Carstens comments, adds byline)

By Tom Brown

MIAMI, April 6 (Reuters) - Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said his government hopes to see world economic leaders press China for a further strengthening of the yuan when they gather for meetings in Washington later this week.

"China should continue allowing the appreciation of its currency versus the (U.S.) dollar," Carstens told Reuters on Sunday.

A stronger yuan should allow for "a more balanced distribution of the adjustment" in world trade, Carstens added, speaking on the sidelines of an annual Inter-American Development Bank meeting in Miami.

He was referring to how yuan weakness, even amid the U.S. dollar's recent decline against the euro and other leading world currencies, is keeping China's exports cheap and more attractive abroad.

"This has been the purpose of discussions at the IMF for the last year and hopefully this issue will be addressed again next week," said Carstens.

G-7 finance ministers and central bankers are due to meet on Friday in Washington, before the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Carstens, who warned in remarks to reporters earlier on Sunday about what he called the rise of "a protectionism movement around the world," did not elaborate on the China currency issue.