rmb File photo:VCG

The yuan's share in global foreign exchange reserves rose to 2.45 percent in the first quarter of 2021 from 2.2 percent in the previous three months, continuing the currency's momentum and accelerating its path toward internationalization.

According to the IMF's Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) survey, total yuan foreign exchange reserves jumped to an equivalent of $287.46 billion in the first quarter, achieving nine consecutive quarters of growth.

The IMF started tracking the yuan's share in 2017.

The greenback remained the most widely held currency by global central banks, edging up to 59.5 percent, followed by the euro at 20.57 percent and the yen at 5.89 percent, IMF data showed.

Morgan Stanley analysts forecast in September last year that the yuan would account for 5-10 percent of global foreign exchange reserve assets by 2030. That would put the yuan behind the US dollar and the euro.

The yuan's influence has continued to increase in the global market with China's fast economic recovery in the post-epidemic era and rising role as a global manufacturing powerhouse, when many others in the world are still trapped by ongoing flare-ups of the virus.

China's total foreign trade surged 37.4 percent on an annual basis to $482.3 billion in May, compared with growth of 37 percent in April, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed in early June.

The yuan was the fifth most-used currency for global payments by value in May, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications.

Analysts said the yuan's strengthened foothold and increasing credibility was also a result of China's sound monetary policy over the past year. Central bank governor Yi Gang said in January that China will prioritize stability in monetary policy in 2021.

Global Times