Inclusion of the RMB in SDRs and the impossible trinity in China

This paper explores the dynamics and features of the impossible trinity configuration in China, in the process of reforming the renminbi (RMB) exchange rate and inclusion in the currency basket of special drawing rights (SDR). By applying the synthetic model of Ito and Kawai (2014) and Aizenman et al. (2008) to Chinese data for the period between 2002 and 2019, we find structural breaks in China's exchange rate stability in 2005, when China started its market-oriented exchange rate reform, and 2016, when the RMB was included in the SDR. More importantly, we find that, in the process of RMB exchange rate reform and RMB's inclusion in the SDR, China has adopted a more flexible exchange rate regime, becoming more financially open, monetarily independent, and less reliant on international reserves hoarding.& COPY; 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.