Medvedev Questions Dollar as World Currency, Open to Yuan Swaps
By Lyubov Pronina
June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev questioned the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency and said using a mix of regional currencies would make the world economy more stable. Russia may consider ruble-yuan swaps.
The dollar “is not in a spectacular position, let’s be frank, and its prospects cause various questions as do the prospects for the global currency system,’’ Medvedev, who today hosts an international economic forum in St. Petersburg, said in an interview published by the Moscow-based Kommersant newspaper. Regarding the global financial system, “therefore our task is to make it more mobile and at the same time more balanced.’’
Medvedev is expected to reiterate his call for creating a new world currency at the forum today in his keynote address on the first lessons of the global crisis. Russia’s president has called for creating regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis. Russia’s proposals for the Group of 20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.
It is too early to be fully optimistic that the global financial crisis is easing, he said in the interview. The most dramatic scenarios for a collapse haven’t occurred, he said.
A new world currency may be on the agenda when Medvedev meets counterparts from Brazil, India and China on June 16 at a summit in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, the Kremlin said this month.
“This idea has potential, even though some of my G-20 colleagues aren’t actively discussing it at the moment,’’ Medvedev told Kommersant. “However, for example, in the opinion of our Chinese colleagues it is quite a possible step. The most important thing is not to walk away from discussions on this topic.’’
Turning the ruble into a reserve currency is still a possibility, especially if some of Russia’s partners start making payments for their oil and gas in rubles, Medvedev said. Russia might consider setting up ruble-yuan swap positions similar to the recent accord suggested between China and Brazil, he said.
Last Updated: June 4, 2009 20:14 EDT
source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=anvHhN4CqQOE
open to 打算、愿意考虑……方案
Dmitry Medvedev 俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫
ruble-yuan swaps 俄货币卢布与中国人民币互换（协议）
Kommersant newspaper 俄罗斯商业日报，亦有译作生意人报、商人报、俄罗斯日报
keynote address 会议等的主题演讲
supranational currency 超主权货币、超国家货币
The most dramatic scenarios for a collapse haven’t occurred, he said. 其称目前危机尚未见底（原意为最糟糕的崩溃场景还未出现）