Overview
- China published Xi Jinping’s 2024 remarks in the Communist Party journal Qiushi calling for a “powerful central bank” and elevating the yuan to global reserve status.
- A weaker dollar at four-year lows and record gold above $5,500 an ounce have renewed de‑dollarization talk, with analysts linking market moves to President Trump’s tariffs and policy uncertainty.
- IMF figures place the dollar near 57% of official reserves versus roughly 20% for the euro and about 1.9–2% for the renminbi, highlighting the yuan’s small starting base.
- Beijing has spent years building international usage through CIPS, currency‑swap lines, greater access to Chinese securities, and increased trade settlement, with roughly one‑third of China’s trade now invoiced in yuan.
- Experts say wider reserve adoption would require opening China’s capital account, easing currency controls, making the yuan more freely convertible, and allowing greater exchange‑rate flexibility.