人民币纳入SDR（特别提款权）是国际货币改革进程中的一个重大事件。正如IMF总裁拉加德所言，将人民币纳入SDR货币篮子的决定是中国经济融入全球金融体系的一个重要里程碑。

从一定意义上讲，加入SDR等于IMF正式为人民币作为国际储备货币进行背书，也意味着二战以来国际货币体系改革取得重大进展。布雷顿森林体系暴露出的重大缺陷，是美元在现行国际货币体系中具有“一币独大”的特殊地位。在布雷顿森林体系下，以美元为支柱的国际货币体系面临“特里芬难题”，即美国国际收支逆差下，美元币值稳定与美元供给充足之间存在冲突。因此，IMF创设了SDR，以缓解主权货币作为储备货币的内在风险，为国际货币体系改革提供一种新的思路。

然而，从发展进程来看，SDR作为国际储备发展十分缓慢。SDR设立至今，其在国际货币体系中所实际起的作用有限，2014年SDR 在IMF成员国储备资产中所占比例依然不足4%。数据显示，截至9月份，IMF各成员国的SDR配额仅相当于2800亿美元，而同期全球储备资产规模高达11.3万亿美元，前者不及后者的零头。特别是结构比例失衡，SDR 篮子中的货币只有四种，其中美元占41.9%、欧元占37.4%、英镑占11.3%、日元占9.4%，且所属国家均为发达经济体，但其GDP总量仅占全球的约50%。这种结构比例无法反映新兴经济体在全球经济和金融格局中的作用，因此加快SDR份额改革势在必行。

IMF每五年对SDR进行一次评估。按照标准，SDR篮子的组成货币必须满足两个条件：第一必须是IMF参加国或货币联盟所发行的货币，该经济体在篮子生效日前五年考察期内是全球四个最大商品和服务贸易出口地之一，符合“主要交易国”标准；第二是“使用自由”标准，即货币在国际交易支付中广泛使用并在主要外汇市场中广泛交易。

从当前情况看，人民币已经符合IMF认定的这两大标准。首先，人民币跨境使用进程正在加快推进。SWIFT数据显示，2014年，人民币成为全球第二大贸易融资货币、第五大支付货币、第六大外汇交易货币。今年8月份，人民币首次超过日元成为全球第四大支付货币，市场份额升至2.79%，创历史新高，排名前三的美元、欧元、英镑所占份额分别为44.8%、27.2%、8.5%。

其次，目前全球有近15个离岸人民币清算中心。中国与亚洲、欧洲各国建立的人民币清算安排、核准人民币格境外机构投资者（RQFII）、签订货币互换协议都是人民币国际化进程中的重要步骤。2014年以来，中国已经与英国、德国、卢森堡、法国、瑞士分别签署了人民币清算协议，形成了“五足鼎立”的人民币离岸中心格局。2009年以来，中国与33个国家签订了货币互换协议，总计金额达到3.1万亿人民币，几乎覆盖全球。离岸人民币存款近2万亿元，且离岸人民币债券和其他人民币资产市场发展迅速。

人民币“入篮”对国际货币体系改革将产生深远影响。在SDR构成中，美元、欧元、英镑和日元的权重将从原来的41.9%、37.4%、11.3%和9.4%分别下降至41.73%、30.93%、8.09%和8.33%，而人民币加入SDR所占权重为10.92%（尽管不及预期），位列美元、欧元之后，成为SDR货币篮子中的全球第三大货币。

中长期看，人民币在本轮评估中通过IMF例行的SDR定值检查，获得IMF官方认可，跨入SDR篮子，可以视为人民币国际化、迈入国际储备货币行列的里程碑，象征意义巨大。首先，IMF《世界经济展望》数据显示，中国在2010年就成为全球第二大经济体，人民币加入SDR，会使得SDR本身具有更多的全球代表性和公正性。第二，SDR增加第五种货币，会使其价值稳定性有所增加。第三，增加了成员国储备资产的选择性，以满足多样化的需求。据统计，目前，全球已经有50多家央行把人民币纳入储备资产。第四，会增加SDR的吸引力，同时人民币也参与国际铸币税的收益分配。

人民币加入SDR产生的综合效益才刚刚开始，“入篮”并非是终点，而是中国从金融大国迈向金融强国的新起点，更是中国倒逼自身金融体系改革和金融市场提高效率的助力器。未来中国需要藉人民币加入SDR的契机，积极调整储备资产配置结构，以“一带一路”和“走出去”战略为平台，着力构建有效运转辐射全球的投资交易与支付清算体系、信用评级体系与金融安全保障体系，积极提升人民币的全球影响力。

The renminbi's introduction into the SDR basket is a significant development in the process of international currency system reform. As IMF President Christine Lagarde said, the decision was an important milestone in the Chinese economy's integration into the global financial regime.

In a certain sense, joining the SDR equals IMF endorsement of the RMB formally becoming an international reserve currency, marking a significant step forward in post-WWII international currency system reform. As an IMF invention to cope with the “Triffin Dilemma” of the Bretton Woods system, the SDR was meant to ease the inherent risks of sovereign currencies as reserve currencies.

However, the SDR has played a very limited role in the international currency system. By 2014, the proportion of SDR in the reserve assets of IMF member countries remained below 4 percent. By September 2015, the SDR quotas of all IMF member countries totaled only about $280 billion, as compared to the $11.3 trillion in global reserve assets. Structural imbalance turns out to be particularly evident. There were only four currencies in the SDR basket, with the US dollar accounting for 41.9 percent, the euro 37.4 percent, the British pound 11.3 percent, and the Japanese yen 9.4 percent. With all four currencies belonging to advanced economies, the SDR failed to reflect the functions of emerging economies in global economic and financial affairs. SDR quota reform was thus imperative.

The IMF reviews the SDR composition every five years. According to set standards, currencies in the SDR basket must satisfy two conditions: First, they must be issued by an IMF member state, or a currency alliance, and the economic entity has to have been one of the world's four largest commodity and service exporters for five consecutive years prior to the year before the basket took effect; Second, the “free use” criterion, which means the currency must have been widely used in international transaction payments, and extensively transacted in major foreign-exchange markets.

Judging from current conditions, the RMB satisfies those two criteria. First, the process of cross-border use of the RMB is being accelerated. According to SWIFT statistics, the RMB had become the world's second most important currency in trade and fund-raising, the fifth payment currency, and the sixth foreign-exchange currency. By August 2015, the RMB had surpassed the yen to become the fourth global payment currency with a market share of 2.79 percent, creating a historical high. The market shares of the first three, namely the dollar, euro and pound, were respectively 44.8 percent, 27.2 percent, and 8.5 percent.

Second, there have been almost 15 offshore RMB clearing centers. Since 2014, China has signed RMB clearance agreements with Great Britain, Germany, Luxemburg, France, and Switzerland. Since 2009, the country has signed currency-swap agreements with 33 countries, with a combined volume of 310.15 million yuan. Offshore RMB deposits have almost reached 2 trillion yuan, and offshore markets for RMB bonds (dim sum bonds) and other forms of RMB assets have developed rapidly.

The RMB's SDR status will have far-reaching impact on international currency system reform. The weight of the other four currencies in the SDR basket, the dollar, euro, pound, and yen, will be reduced respectively to 41.73 percent, 30.93 percent, 8.09 percent, and 8.33 percent. The RMB's weight will be 10.92 percent (though not as much as had been anticipated), becoming the third-most important currency, after the dollar and euro, in the SDR basket.

From a mid- and long-term perspective, the RMB's admission into the SDR basket may be considered a significant milestone of its internationalization. According to the World Economic Outlook Database of the IMF, China became the world's second largest economic entity in 2010. The RMB's admission into the SDR basket will make the SDR itself more just and representative of the global economy. Second, adopting a fifth currency will also enhance stability of the SDR's value. Third, it increases the options for member countries' reserve currencies, and satisfies diversified demands. According to statistics, more than 50 central banks have introduced the RMB into their reserve assets. Fourth, it makes the SDR more attractive, and the RMB will also participate in the distribution of international seigniorage income.

The comprehensive benefits of the RMB's entry into the SDR have just begun. The SDR status is only a fresh starting point for transforming China from a big financial entity into a strong financial powerhouse. It will prove even more effective as a booster for China to promote its own financial system reforms and improve efficiency of its financial market. In the future, China needs to take advantage of the RMB's SDR status to actively adjust the structure of its reserve assets, and strive to build an investment and transaction as well as payment and settlement system, credit-rating system, and financial security guarantee system that are effective and operate globally, so as to upgrade the RMB's global influence.