Chinese Currency Accountability Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this body to support H.R. 386, the Chinese Currency Accountability Act of 2025.

Mr. Speaker, this critical bill ensures that the United States stands firm against increasing the weight of the Chinese renminbi in the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights, their currency basket, unless China changes course.

Frankly, China operates the Belt and Road Initiative in competition with the IMF, so this is a very modest proposal and very incremental. China should not even participate in the IMF while they are working to actually undermine the IMF with their alternative, the Belt and Road Initiative.

Additionally, the Special Drawing Rights are a useful global reserve asset, providing IMF members with claims on five major currencies: the dollar, the euro, now the renminbi, but also the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Most notably, this currency basket influences the IMF lending rate. All other central banks participating are market based. In 2016, the IMF decided they were going to include a nonmarket-based currency, the Chinese renminbi.

More concerning, in 2022, as Chairman Hill pointed out, the IMF actually increased the weight to 12.8 percent, making it the third most prominent currency, even though China lacks independence.

This bill directs the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to oppose any further increase in the renminbi's weight unless China complies with its IMF obligations, that it is found to not be a currency manipulator, and that it adheres to the Paris Club and OECD rules on export credits.

None of this undermines China's growth or sovereignty. Instead, it points them to the path that they already promised to pursue when they chose to participate.

Further, when China joined the World Trade Organization, they pledged to become a market economy. While they made early progress, China has ceased such efforts, and they have instead worked to undermine Western institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

This bill has bipartisan support, having passed the House last September.

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Mr. DAVIDSON. Finally, the CBO estimates it will have no significant impact on spending or revenue. Our foreign policy and financial institutions should advance our interests, not undermine them.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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