Why the rise of China’s currency can’t be ignored

This year’s near-doubling of the yuan’s share as a global payments currency has largely gone unremarked because the figures are still rather modest, and forecasts of the dollar’s impending demise have so far turned out to be greatly exaggerated. Besides, the world’s attention is fixated on China’s wobbly domestic growth. The yuan as a vehicle for the nation’s geopolitical ambitions is getting sidelined, much like the tapering enthusiasm for President Xi Jinping’s $US1 trillion ($1.5 trillion) Belt and Road project. The yuan is becoming more of an international force. Credit: AP Yet, ignoring the yuan’s rise might be a mistake…