The International Monetary Fund has hinted there will be no quick decision as to whether it may include the Chinese yuan in its strategic basket of reserve currencies, as the Chinese currency still needs to meet important financial norms.
The IMF said it needed to do much work in reviewing the inclusion of China's renminbi in its basket of reserve currencies.
The Chinese authorities seek such a promotion in an effort to expand the use of the currency globally and join the US dollar, the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen making up the basket currently.
In trying to meet key international financial norms, the yuan showed a mixed picture, and a final decision would only be announced in November, the IMF said.
It admitted, though, that the yuan's international use "had been increasing, albeit from a low base, since the last valuation review."
The Chinese national currency meets the criteria of being a currency used for large-scale exports of goods and services, but other conditions still appear to be problematic.
Among other reasons, the renminbi has remained tightly controlled by the government in Beijing which has been a thorn in the side of the US as the IMF's largest shareholder. Washington has long accused China of keeping the yuan undervalued to boost exports.
2000 was the last time the IMF's reserve currency basket was modified. That time, the euro replaced France's franc and Germany's deutschmark.
