China's central bank welcomes inclusion of RMB in SDR basket

BEIJING - China's central bank announced early Tuesday morning that it welcomes the decision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to include Chinese currency renminbi in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket.

The People's Bank of China said in a statement that the decision shows the IMF's recognition of China's economic development and reform and opening up achievements and that renminbi will help boost the representation of the SDR and improve the current international currency system.

"The joining of renminbi in the SDR basket also means the international community has greater expectations on China to play an active role in the world economic and financial arena," said the statement, adding that China will speed up the promotion of financial reform and opening up to make positive contribution to global economic growth, financial stability, and economic governance.

The IMF announced on Monday that renminbi is eligible for joining the SDR basket as an international reserve currency, bringing it into an exclusive group of currencies that make up the IMF's own reserve basket, which is currently comprised of the US dollar, the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

The inclusion of the renminbi will take effect Oct 1, 2016, the IMF said in a press release.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, said, "The Executive Board's decision to include the renminbi in SDR basket is an important milestone in the integration of the Chinese economy into the global financial system."

"It is also a recognition of the progress that the Chinese authorities have made in the past years in reforming China's monetary and financial systems," she said.