Xi Revives Ambition for a Stronger Global Renminbi (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: So Chinese leader Xi Jinping is challenging the U.S. dollar with a desire to produce a, quote, powerful currency. In fact, he wants to see the renminbi become a global reserve currency. Now, the idea is not new. In fact, he raised the notion in a speech back in 2024. But over the weekend, a Chinese Communist Party journal published a commentary based on that speech, re-upping the idea and sending it out there to a wider audience. The timing here is interesting. It comes on the back of ongoing U.S. dollar weakness. In fact, the U.S. dollar hit a four-year low last week. It also comes amid trade tensions between the United States and its trading partners and ahead of that upcoming shift in power at the very top of the U.S. Federal Reserve. OK, but let's be real. China's renminbi has a limited role in global reserves and is absolutely dominated right now by the United States. But the renminbi is gaining. In fact, it's currently the world's second largest trade finance currency on the back of strong Chinese exports. So the Chinese leader says he wants to build a powerful currency. So can China do it? Well, analysts say at the moment, no, because China needs an open capital account and full convertibility.