shutterstock_190668482_650-Yuan

China’s Renminbi Joins IMF’s Special Drawing Right Basket

On November 30, 2015, the International Monetary Fund’s executive board announced the decision to include China’s Renminbi into the Special Drawing Right Basket (SDR), effective October 2016. Created by the IMF in 1969 in the context of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system, SDR is an international reserve asset that helps its holder…

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a summit in March 2015. Photo credit: Japanese Prime Minister’s office

U.S. Military Rebalance in the Asia-Pacific

In the fall of 2011, President Obama announced significant policy changes constituting a complete “rebalance” of defense resources and foreign policy interests to the Asia-Pacific region. Also known as the “Pivot to Asia,” these policy changes included intensified regional U.S. involvement in terms of military spending, military presence, foreign policy, and economic policy. During this…