China Calls for a New Global Currency

Posted by Alex in Money & Finance on March 24, 2009 at 2:22 pm


Is this the beginning of the end of the dominance of the US dollar as the world’s preferred currency? The global economic crisis and the erosion in the value of the dollar has led China of all countries to call for a new "international reserve currency":

[People's Bank of China] Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan’s essay did not mention the dollar by name but said the crisis showed the dangers of relying on one nation’s currency for international payments. In an unusual step, the essay was published in both Chinese and English, making clear it was meant for an international audience.

"The crisis called again for creative reform of the existing international monetary system towards an international reserve currency," Zhou wrote.

A reserve currency is the unit in which a government holds its reserves. But Zhou said the proposed new currency also should be used for trade, investment, pricing commodities and corporate bookkeeping.

Beijing has long been uneasy about relying on the dollar for the bulk of its trade and to store foreign reserves. Premier Wen Jiabao publicly appealed to Washington this month to avoid any steps in response to the crisis that might erode the value of the dollar and Beijing’s estimated $1 trillion holdings in treasuries and other U.S. government debt.

Link (Photo: World Economic Forum [Flickr])


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COMMENT

21 comments to "China Calls for a New Global Currency"

  1. AndiB.
    March 24th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    A country that doubled or tripled the number of executions within one year, where people are still held like slaves, whose economy is based on stealing trademarks and patents, which is exploiting the natural ressources of this planet at a mind-boggling rate, which pollutes every river, lake, sea, air and soil within their borders and beyond, a country where people are oppressed and the right to vote denied, where censorship is the rule instead of the exception - such a country should not call for anything, but just shut the f*** up!
    It's a shame that such a country still exists in the year 2009...

  2. VonSkippy
    March 24th, 2009 at 3:02 pm

    I wonder where China got all that money and technology?

    I'm guessing the same place that Pakistan got all their money and weapons.

    The rich (doing what rich people have done for centuries)are gutting America for their own bottom line.

  3. Medical Pastiche
    March 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pm

    The U.S. should have been more careful before it threw 1 trillion additional dollars into the money supply. If the dollar is ditched in favor of another currency, the U.S. as we know it today will no longer exist.

  4. Kalel
    March 24th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

    The United States has quite the advantage in having other nations buy dollars in order to trade abroad. I don't see that advantage being given up easily.

  5. Detroit Indian
    March 24th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    Is that going o help much if the Chinese government continues to control the value of the yuan instead of letting the markets decide. I am no currency expert, but they would just hoard the new currency instead of he dollar and the imbalance would persist.

    US surely would lose its current privilege of printing money at will, but China needs to let go of its currency as well.

  6. Kev
    March 24th, 2009 at 4:13 pm

    This will get really interesting when China decides to point out that they own like a third of the US debt... and all the Americans will say "You do NOT!"; and then China says, "think what you like, but we're sending some of our guys around to pick up your car"

  7. Matt
    March 24th, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    Me Chinese me play joke, me take your land for your debt!!

  8. angstrom
    March 24th, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    Hey Andi B, while you are raging on there .. why not check out who exactly owns your country

    Who actually has been lending the US all thismoney that the treasury have been magic-ing up?
    Who owns that national debt?

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/mar/13/useconomy-china

    take a guess

  9. Dog Droppings
    March 24th, 2009 at 6:50 pm

    We did it to the Indians, and now we're doing it to ourselves.

    The big American Ponzi scheme is coming to an end.

  10. oOPonyOo
    March 24th, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    Good postings on this.

    What would happen if the U.S Dollar wasn't tied to the value of barrels of oil?

    I have heard that if China calls in their debt, that would be it for the Americans.

    Economic crisis, well, perhaps this is just the begining of the end of an empire. My advise, start practicing your Mandarin/Cantonese

  11. CashGiftsDirect
    March 24th, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    We will see as time goes on what happens. No one can give a final say-so upon this issue. Let it play-out is all I am saying.

  12. jim
    March 25th, 2009 at 2:04 am

    What happened to you China? you used to be cool.

  13. Thebes
    March 25th, 2009 at 3:56 am

    This is really bad news, I suppose unless maybe you are Chinese.

    Between the US Dollars held by foreign central banks now being very likely to re-enter circulation, and all the money Bernanke / Geithner / Obushma are throwing from their helicopters... we will have hyper-inflation by next winter. The US Dollar will be worth 1/3 or less what it is today. People might scoff at this by I predicted this mess back when the Fed discontinued the M3. We are so totally fucked. Stock up on basic essentials and know who you can rely on.

  14. Thomas
    March 25th, 2009 at 8:37 am

    "Is this the beginning of the end of the dominance of the US dollar as the world’s preferred currency?"

    The beginning? For months now the Euro is becomming more and more popular as the us-dollar is weak.

    @andib: america still has the death penalty. so who are you to judge?

  15. ravemastaj
    March 25th, 2009 at 9:37 am

    This is going to happen. All China has to do is sell back our treasury bonds (securities), and our Treasury dept. will have to print the money to pay for them. This will cause hyper-inflation, and the world will BEG for a world currency. With Russia at China's side in this, I can only assume this is communism about to succeed.

    All I can say is: buy bullets.

  16. Avarana
    March 25th, 2009 at 9:47 am

    Well, I for one welcome the chollar.

  17. Li
    March 25th, 2009 at 11:55 am

    Chollar!
    Hen Hao

  18. Justin
    March 25th, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    I don't really see this as anything more than international, financial, sabre-rattling. The fact of the matter is when you look at this in the long term the dollar is one of the most stable currencies out there. Obviously right now there is a major dip, but the dollar will recover and all this talk about the end of America's economic lead will take a backburner for another 10 years.

  19. V
    March 25th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    Fiat currencies need to all die.

  20. Non
    March 25th, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    damn I knew I should have stocked up on gold when the crisis first started. I just couldn't convince my husband. -_-;

    As for China, apparently their motto is: You can't beat them, but you can buy them outright.

  21. AndiB.
    March 29th, 2009 at 10:15 am

    @angstrom:
    @Thomas:

    I'm not American... who said so?


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