BEIJING – According to the head of the People’s Bank of China Governor ZhouXiaochuan, the Chinese authorities will continue to gradually promote theinternationalization of the yuan including through the further opening ofits financial markets.
“In the process of internationalization of the yuan we have takensufficient measures that from now on will allow the yuan to be usedin trade and investment. Moreover, the yuan has been included in the SDRcurrency basket. The key procedures have already been carried out… Asfor the future role of the government or the Central Bank in theinternationalization of the yuan, to my mind, it is still possible to dosomething to establish communication between domestic and internationalcapital markets,” Zhou Xiaochuan said at a press conference on Friday.
As to the degree of the use of the yuan by market participants in theircalculations and investments, it will take quite a long time.
“We cannot force anyone, decisions are made based on their own logic, thatis why it is a gradual process. We will continue gradualinternationalization of the yuan,” added Xiaochuan.
The head of the PBC proceeded to say that the further opening of itsfinancial markets would help the process of the currency’sinternationalization.
In November 2015, the IMF Executive Board made a decision to include theyuan in the SDR currency basket beginning from October 1, 2016. The basketalready includes the dollar, euro, pound sterling and Japanese yen. The PBCwelcomed the Fund’s move, calling its recognition the result of economicdevelopment and policy reform as well as China’s transparency.
SDR (special drawing rights) is an international reserve asset createdby the IMF in 1969 to supplement the official reserves of its membercountries. – Sputnik