renminbi

plural noun

ren·​min·​bi ˈren-ˈmin-ˈbē How to pronounce renminbi (audio)
variants or Renminbi
: the official currency of the People's Republic of China consisting of yuan

Examples of renminbi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Much of China’s growing rescue lending is denominated in renminbi, the report found, with loans in the Chinese currency overtaking U.S. dollars in 2020. Reuters, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2023 Against the Japanese yen and the Chinese renminbi, the dollar has been strong enough to warrant discussion of government currency intervention in Asia to reduce the foreign exchange disparities. Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023 Similarly, the renminbi may one day come to rival the dollar as a vehicle for cross-border payments, although that may take decades. Barry Eichengreen, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022 That’s down from over 70% in 2000, but well above the figures for the Chinese renminbi, which represented just 2.5% of foreign exchange reserves. Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2023 Part of the American conditions would be that Saudi Arabia would curtail its growing ties with China, including the prospect of Saudi Arabia buying Chinese oil in renminbi, which is a threat to the U.S. dollar as the world’s primary global reserve currency. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2023 Zhan Yubo, a senior economist at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the decline in the renminbi was the direct result of the Fed’s recent increases in interest rates. Ana Swanson, New York Times, 4 July 2023 Chinese banks extended $47.5 billion of new renminbi loans, tumbling 89 percent from June — and half the amount of a year earlier. Li Yuan, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2023 The Asia dollar index fell overnight, though China’s renminbi was off more falling to 6.94. Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'renminbi.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Chinese (Beijing) rénmínbì, from rénmín people + currency

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of renminbi was in 1957

Dictionary Entries Near renminbi

Cite this Entry

“Renminbi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/renminbi. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.

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