Di Meglio, Jean-Francois --- "The "internationalization" of the renminbi: toward an "RMBRI"?" [2020] ELECD 471; in Carrai, A. Maria; Defraigne, Jean-Christophe; Wouters, Jan (eds), "The Belt and Road Initiative and Global Governance" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020) 139

Book Title: The Belt and Road Initiative and Global Governance

Editor(s): Carrai, A. Maria; Defraigne, Jean-Christophe; Wouters, Jan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: The “internationalization” of the renminbi: toward an “RMBRI”?

Author(s): Di Meglio, Jean-François

Number of pages: 16

Abstract/Description:

While the current “trade war” has not yet contaminated the monetary field, since flows of financial investment have not materially changed as of the first half of 2019, the risk remains of competitive devaluations aimed at boosting sagging economies on both sides of the Pacific as well as global trade. Among other issues, this brings into question the prospects of ambitious plans laid earlier in the century regarding the internationalization of the Chinese currency. Although talks are still ongoing, and after many and varied experiments, the process is now drifting towards a very peculiar approach as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) unfolds. A convergence between the monetary plan and the infrastructural and financial ambitions displayed by China since 2013 could possibly resolve several deadlocks and help find a solution—a new positioning of the China-centered monetary order that limits the role of the Chinese currency to the region rather than extending it to a global influence. This chapter looks back at the lessons learnt from past experiences of currency internationalization and investigates the potential monetary outcomes of the BRI.