, Columnist
Why China Isn't a Financial Center
Without free-flowing capital, China's markets can't compete.
Locals only.
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Amid all the buzz about China's hosting the G-20 summit in Hangzhou -- all the accords, arguments and alleged snubs -- another symbolically significant event was largely obscured. Last week, the World Bank issued bonds denominated in Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, in China's interbank market. Beginning in October, the yuan will be included in the basket of currencies used to set the SDRs' value.
To China, this symbolizes its status as a rising power. I'd argue that it instead symbolizes why China is struggling to become a global financial center.