Xi Jinping Advocates Renminbi as Global Reserve Currency

Chinese President Xi Jinping has outlined a vision for elevating the renminbi to global reserve currency status, emphasizing the need for a stronger central bank and competitive financial institutions to support its wider use in international trade, investment, and foreign exchange markets. The remarks, published in an essay in the Communist Party's Qiushi journal on Saturday, reflect Beijing's strategic push amid recent declines in the U.S. dollar's value and growing global uncertainties.

The essay, adapted from a 2024 address to senior officials, argues that China's monetary system is large but lacks sufficient strength to match its economic size, the world's second largest by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity. Xi called for enhancing the People's Bank of China, developing global financial hubs like Shanghai and Shenzhen, and attracting overseas capital to influence international price-setting. Officials have framed this as preparation for a multipolar monetary system where major currencies coexist and balance each other, rather than displacing the dollar outright.

The timing aligns with volatility in global markets. The U.S. dollar has weakened, with the...