Internationalization of the renminbi is a stated goal of the Chinese government, its brief flirtation with Special Drawing Rights and an Asian Currency Unit notwithstanding. Chinese officials understand that a dollar-centric international monetary and financial system is a mixed blessing. Doing cross-border business in their own currency confers convenience value and efficiency advantages on United States (US) banks and firms. It frees them from the costs of converting currencies and hedging exchange rate exposures, something that Chinese banks and firms will enjoy only when they are similarly able to conduct international transactions in their home currency.

Barry Eichengreen, economics and political science professor at the University of California Berkeley, examined prospects for renminbi internationalization and analyzed how it relates to the PRC's economic rebalancing. He discussed issues of scale, stability, and liquidity critical for the renminbi to become an international reserve currency.