China central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Beijing would accelerate reforms to the country’s currency to push for the yuan’s inclusion in the International Monetary Fund’s currency basket, known as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. Zhou made the comments during an interview with Xinhua reporters in Washington, DC on Friday, where he was attending a meeting of the IMF. China has committed to further open its capital account and liberalize the way the exchange rate is managed, including reducing intervention in the domestic currency market, which would alleviate concerns among IMF members that incorporating the currency would increase liquidity and policy risks in the SDR regime. IMF officials at the very top said the yuan should be part of the SDRs because of China’s heft in the global economy and its position as the world’s largest trading nation.
