Lawmaker: Renminbi internationalization not on agenda

Source: Xinhua | 03-10-2008 11:16

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The internationalization of China's currency Renminbi has not been brought on the agenda, said a lawmaker here on Sunday.

"Whether a currency could be internationalized depends on its convertibility and the country's national economic strength. So there is still a way to go for Renminbi's internationalization," said Wu Xiaoling, deputy director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

The former vice governor of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual session of top legislature.

She said the central bank in recent years has signed agreements with neighboring countries like Vietnam, Myanmar, Russia and Mongolia on the settling account of bilateral trade, which allows each trade partner to choose whether to use domestic currency or Renminbi to wind up the trade account.

"It is good for expanding the area of using Renminbi," said Wu, adding that China's neighboring countries have various demand in trading with Renminbi.

Editor:Zhang Ning