Finance & economics | The 24-body problem

The yuan has been one of the world’s most stable major currencies

That is partly by design, and partly through luck

|SHANGHAI

IN THE “Three-Body Problem”, a popular Chinese science-fiction novel, the planet Trisolaris lurches between climatic stability and chaos as it follows an unpredictable orbit around the three suns in its star system. The solution, the inhabitants conclude, is to invade the Earth, so as to enjoy its smooth single-sun orbit. China’s central bank has been making a similar monetary voyage, in reverse.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The 24-body problem”

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