Statement endorsing new role for renminbi lost in tumult of terrorist attacks in Paris

Managing director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde endorsed her staff's suggestion on Nov 13 that the renminbi is qualified to be included in the special drawing rights basket of currencies. The 24 directors of the IMF executive board will vote to decide at the end of this month.

If the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov 13, in which at least 129 people were killed and hundreds injured, had not seized the media's attention, Lagarde's statement would certainly have made headlines. It is fairly likely that China's currency will be given the same status as the US dollar, the British pound, the Japanese yen and the euro, if the United States does not abuse its veto power.

The terrorist attacks in Paris dominated the G20 summit, shifting the focus away from its planned economic agenda, with the G20 leaders collectively condemning the attacks.

Zhu Guangyao, vice-minister of China's Finance Ministry, called a media briefing before President Xi Jinping arrived in Turkey on Nov 14 in which he strongly condemned the terrorists.

However, asked to comment on Lagarde's statement, Zhu outlined some of the steps China has taken. Within less than two months, Xi had exchanged ideas on international financial governance reform with the leaders of the US and the United Kingdom, and during the visits to China by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, he said. Much consensus had been gained, Zhu said.

France, Germany, the UK, the US and Japan still have the privilege of appointing directors to the IMF board, but the rest of the directors should be elected among the IMF members, he said.

Based on Zhu's briefing, it can be assumed that China's economic clout and its contribution to the global economy have gained the recognition of the developed economies. Even as its own growth has slowed to 6.9 percent, the country still contributed more than 30 percent of the world's growth during the first three quarters of this year.

If China's currency can be smoothly incorporated into the IMF's special drawing rights basket by the end of this month, it would be faster than originally expected.

However, since President Xi took office nearly three years ago, this process has sped up. At the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2013, China decided to help set up the BRICS New Development Bank and to pool resources to form a reserve fund with emerging economies.

At the same time, China has led the forming of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and is advancing its Belt and Road Initiative. To put it simply, China has taken proactive approaches and committed itself to offering public goods for the world and strengthening the voice of developing countries in the international system.

Largarde knows well how much China has contributed to the IMF during the turbulent years since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008. She, along with global leaders, also recognizes China's determination to make the global governance system fairer and more inclusive.

The endorsement of the renminbi's internationalization will reflect the push for greater inclusiveness and the right direction for global development, something that can help bring a fairer and more peaceful world.

The author is China Daily chief correspondent in Brussels. Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 11/20/2015 page12)