An advisor to China’s central bank said the renminbi will be “basically convertible” within five years, as the current trajectory of exchange rate liberalization looks set to continue, Dow Jones reported. Speaking at the sidelines of the annual IMF/World Bank meetings, Li Daokui, an academic member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), said that China’s capital account will be gradually opened in the near future, and a more flexible exchange rate mechanism introduced. Li added that a market-based exchange rate for the renminbi would be in US interests. Beijing has introduced new programs over the past year which relax the country’s capital controls, albeit with varying impact. As an academic advisor, Li’s comments are not official PBoC policy; the organization has repeatedly stressed that there is “no timetable” for convertibility.