China adopts IMF accounting standards in reserve-currency push for yuan

China has adopted accounting standards endorsed by the International Monetary Fund for its latest balance of payments figures as it pushes for the fund to grant the yuan reserve-currency status, Bloomberg reported, citing a statement posted on the website of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The adjustment, for which no reason was officially given, means that China’s first-quarter current-account surplus is the same as the deficit under the financial and capital heads. Beijing has been pushing for inclusion of the yuan in the IMF’s basket of reserve currencies this year; in 2010 it was deemed to not be “freely usable” in trade and finance.