Yuan world: "It will take decades" - January 14, 2011
Beijing has taken another step Wednesday in its strategy of gradual internationalization of the yuan, its currency. Bank of China, 70% controlled by the Chinese state, now offers its customers in the United States the possibility to make transactions in yuan. Chinese authorities and show once again their desire to promote the use of its currency in major financial centers worldwide.
Already last year, they had authorized the first issues of government securities in Hong Kong.For Michel Aglietta, Scientific Advisor at CEPII and Professor of Economics at Paris X, conditions are far from being met for the yuan becomes fully convertible.
Lefigaro.fr: The announcement of the Bank of China Is a response to foreign pressure?
Michel Aglietta: Pressure on Beijing about its exchange rate policy, are largely due to Americans, who accuse Chinese authorities of being responsible for the trade balance deficit of the United States vis-à-vis the China. These pressures have focused on the bilateral trade between the U.S. and China and therefore have very little relationship with the global financial imbalances. What matters is the balance of payments and multilateral relations.In the context of financial crisis, the lack of dollar liquidity in the markets has been a catalyst for reform of the yuan by Beijing pledged in 2009.
What is the process of internationalization of the yuan?
The new trade in Asia, with the formalization of the free trade agreement between China and ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam, Ed) has allowed the yuan to win at the regional level. Beijing has decided to allow Chinese companies to bill their deliveries in Chinese currency in ASEAN. In fact, the acceleration of Asian integration has challenged the use of a third currency, in this case the dollar, no longer appeared to be optimal.And this, especially as trade within emerging countries showed better growth than trade with Western countries. Finally, last year, China has created a whole new market in Hong Kong, including allowing the first emission of government securities. The regional power of the yuan is now undeniable. But the fragility of the financial system still hinder the Chinese currency to increase its global role.
What he lacks in China for the yuan is needed on the international scene?
China does not liberalize its domestic financial system for several decades. System is kept by the banks themselves very concentrated, and local governments, which are heavily indebted and under the threat of insolvency. Beijing does not let go of the ballast overnight on capital accounts, interest rates or exchange controls.China needs to better regulate intermediary actors who markets and that authorities ensure that operators control risks. It needs actors who can give confidence to foreign investors. This will not happen overnight. However, the Chinese have launched numerous trials since the beginning of the reform of the yuan. The announcement of the Bank of China participated in these experiments. It shows that China does not confined to Hong Kong as a financial-exclusive, but although it aims to internationalize the yuan on all world markets. In the long run, it will be forced to open its financial market.
Chinese companies will be able to invest abroad in yuan
Some Chinese companies will be allowed on a trial basis to make direct investments abroad by using the yuan, a move to internationalize the use of the Chinese currency, announced on Thursday the central bank on its website. This experimental program is intended to "expand the use of the yuan in the border trade and investment to support Chinese companies abroad," the statement said the central bank.
The companies concerned are those that are already on a list they can use the yuan to their trade abroad. In December, Beijing has increased to more than 67,000 the number of such firms, against only 365 before, until the new system to generalize to the entire country.The government plans eventually to extend this possibility to export and import yuan not only to all the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) but also to Latin America, beginning with Brazil, and Africa. According to several international experts, the equivalent of 400 million yuan will be traded in each day worldwide. This figure could rise to 3000 billion by 2015.
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