China cannot afford to join the SDR club now

IS CHINA about to set off down the same mistaken path that Japan trod 35 years ago, when it acquiesced in a move by the (then) Group of Five (G5) leading world economic powers to appreciate the yen massively against other major currencies under the so-called "Plaza Accord"?

The question may seem a little odd, given that there is no move afoot by the now-G7 group to launch a new Plaza Accord - which would not be possible anyway, given that exchange rates are market-determined nowadays.

But China may be walking into a trap of its own making.