Gaining Currency: The Rise of the Renminbi

Friday, November 04, 2016

1:30 am - 3:30 am CST

Penn Wharton China Center

World Financial Center West Building, 16F
Beijing, DC

Content from the Brookings-Tsinghua Public Policy Center is now archived. Since October 1, 2020, Brookings has maintained a limited partnership with Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management that is intended to facilitate jointly organized dialogues, meetings, and/or events.

The anticipation of Renminbi has always been a hot topic. On October 1, 2016, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) officially anointed the RMB as a major global reserve currency by including it in the basket of currencies that make up the Fund’s international reserve assets, known as special drawing rights (SDRs). But is hype of the RMB’s rise overblown? Could it ever supplant the U.S. dollar as the dominant global reserve currency? Can an ascendant RMB withstand the risks of a slowdown or hard landing in China?

Now you hear insights on the ascendance of Renminbi from the former head of the IMF’s China Division. In his recently published book “Gaining Currency: The Rise of the Renminbi”, Brookings senior fellow Eswar Prasad reveals the interconnections linking China’s growing economic might, its expanding international influence, and the rise of its currency.

This event was co-hosted by the Brookings-Tsinghua Center, the Penn-Wharton China Center and the International Monetary Institute.