A Beijing Woods monetary system in the making

CHINA'S steady encroachment into the heart of global finance forms part of a changing political and economic order that could eventually reshape the international monetary system. With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank beset by weak leadership, ham-fisted decisions (not least over Greece) and failures in governance reform, China is attempting, from within and outside, to adjust the rules of the two Bretton Woods institutions founded in 1944.

Much depends on whether the Chinese authorities can maintain political stability and steer the country to more sustainable growth in coming years. I…