Paul Krugman | What Does the US Gain From the Dollar's Special Role?

China is claiming that it's not devaluing the renminbi to gain a competitive advantage, it's adding flexibility to prepare for the yuan's new role as an international reserve currency, becoming part of the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights basket and all that. That's a highly implausible story about what's happening right now, but it may be true that China's urge to loosen capital controls is driven in part by its global-currency ambitions. But why, exactly, should China be eager to manage an international reserve currency?