China diplomat downplays calls for dollar replacement

China’s ambassador to the UK on Sunday said China isn’t seeking to replace the dollar as the world’s primary currency, the Wall Street Journal reported. In an interview with the BBC, Ambassador Fu Ying downplayed recent comments made by People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan that called for a new global reserve currency issued by the International Monetary Fund. “China is not calling for a replacement [for the dollar]. It is an article written by the governor of the central bank on his bank’s website. I think he’s joining the debate,” she said. Separately, the state-run China Securities Journal said today in an editorial that the dollar was at the root of an array of global problems. Dissolving the current dollar-denominated financial system would help nations conduct monetary policies independent from the US and improve the security of the world financial order, it said.