The Chinese yuan is becoming increasingly important in the world economy. Photo courtesy of EETV.

INTERACTIVE: China's Foreign Reserves

With the decline of the world economy, many have become concerned about the vast foreign reserves China holds. This graph shows the reserves of China as well as other major Asian and Western nations over time.

Release Date: 10/06/2009

Originally published on 7/31/09.

The issue of China's foreign reserves has been much debated in both internationally and within China itself since the advent of the worldwide crisis last year. Chinese officials have repeatedly voiced concerns about the dollar as the dominant reserve currency worldwide and have called for the creation of a new international standard, but also admit that the development of a new standard will take time. At the same time, the U.S. and other countries are concerned about China's vast reserves, which are largely U.S. dollars. China's reserves have spiked sharply in the past decade, matched only be Japan, causing worries about the clout that could come with such large holdings of foreign currencies.-- Chelsea Mason