Financial crises in the United States and Europe mean the world needs a new, more stable global reserve currency, and rapidly rising trade in renminbi. In the foreign exchange market, for example, RBS Group figures show that the volume of renminbi trade is now about $5-6 billion a day, double of what it was a year ago.

A number of factors suggest that China wants to internationalize its currency by 2015.

First, the International Monetary Fund is reviewing its special drawing rights basket, which uses four key international currencies to supplement member countries' official reserves and bolster liquidity. The deadline for completing that review is 2015.