The International Monetary
Fund admitted China's yuan into its benchmark currency basket on Monday, in a
victory for Beijing's campaign for recognition as a global economic power.
The decision to add the yuan,
also known as the renminbi, to the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket
alongside the dollar, euro, pound sterling and yen, is an important milestone
in China's integration into global finances and a nod to the progress it has
made with reforms.
To meet the IMF’s criteria,
Beijing has undertaken a flurry of reforms in recent months, including better
access for foreigners to Chinese currency markets, more frequent debt issuance
and expanded yuan trading hours.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde,
who along with in-house experts had previously given her support for the
inclusion, made it clear she did not expect Beijing to stop there.
"The renminbi's inclusion
in the SDR is a clear indication of the reforms that have been implemented and
will continue to be implemented," she told reporters.
The People's Bank of China
said the move, which was backed by countries including the United States,
Britain and Japan, showed the international community expected China to play a
bigger role in the world economy.
"Going forward, China
will continue to deepen and accelerate economic reforms and financial opening
up, and contribute to promoting world economic growth, safeguarding financial
stability and improving global economic governance," it said in a
statement.
The PBOC's vice governor Yi
Gang said he expected the inclusion would make the yuan more stable and there
was no basis for it to devalue further, as some traders had expected.
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