China’s Role in Asian Monetary and Financial Integration

Sopanha SA Économiste Asie, Département des études économiques, Direction des risques, Société générale.

China plays a key role in Asian regional integration, serving as an export platform for the region towards the rest of the world. In this respect, China has been instrumental in the development of intraregional trade. Since 2010, the use of the Chinese currency for trade settlement and the implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement further cement China’s leading role in the region. In the monetary and financial realm, China has participated in different regional initiatives including the Chiang Mai Initiative and the Asian Bond Funds. However, China’s contributions to both remain low compared to its huge foreign exchange reserves. Its support of regional integration in Asia remains thus symbolic. Overall, China remains more interdependent with Hong Kong than with the rest of the region. Its increasing trade and financial links with Hong Kong serve as a stepping stone towards its regional integration and in the end towards its world integration.