Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has announced that the Chinese yuan could become a world reserve currency over the next ten years:
“I think the shortest route would be if China liberalised its economy and allowed the convertibility of the yuan,” said Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
“This could take 10 years but after that the yuan would be in demand and it is the shortest route to the creation of a new world reserve currency and I think China needs to think about this,” Kudrin said at a panel discussion at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
China and Russia, the world’s No. 1 and No. 3 biggest holders of foreign exchange reserves, have expressed unease about the volatility of the U.S. dollar and called for discussions on ways to create rival reserve currencies.
See also past CDT posts on the yuan.
