The Yuan Will Not Replace the Dollar Any Time Soon, If Ever

Though Beijing would like to see the yuan supplant the dollar as the world’s premier international currency, China’s currency faces a steep uphill battle.

A Chinese bank worker prepares to count U.S. dollar bills and a stack of 100 yuan notes at a bank in Hefei, China, on March 9, 2010. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

For some years now, financial media have speculated about when China’s yuan will replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s premier international currency—what bankers and currency traders refer to as the “global reserve.”