ABSTRACT

Most Western analyses implicitly associate internationalization with "convertibility," since "international" currencies have always been "convertible." There are also echoes from the times when the "internationalization" of the Japanese yen was encouraged by Japan’s partners and financial actors. The milestones of China’s monetary exchange reforms are quite easily noticeable, and they have been set quite far apart from one another. However, it remains to be seen whether those milestones, at least in the past, had been there to set a clear and unwavering agenda, or whether they were another example of Chinese pragmatism. The supposed “internationalization” of the yen had been viewed by Chinese observers as being imposed upon Japan after 1985, whereas the “Chinese” internationalization would be China-led and go by rules set in China. Before 2010, internationalization had been conducted in a very specific way: the setup of “swap agreements” with China’s main trading partners.