From 2000 to mid-2006 the dollar traded in a narrow band of ¥8.00 to ¥8.27. Starting in May of 2006; however, the yuan finally began to gain more ground against the dollar, and was trading at a conversion rate of USD to CNY ¥7.8128 by the end of the year. Part of this gain in the yuan’s value was attributed to a weakening US economy and a dollar that was sliding in value against most of the world’s major currencies. But it was also a sign that the Chinese government’s efforts to improve the yuan’s profile as a global currency were having an impact.

In 2001, as a requirement of its official membership into the World Trade Organization (WTO), China agreed to implement a series of reforms meant to liberalise its economy. By 2006 it was clear that the Chinese economy was responding to these reforms; as the economic downturn hit the US economy in 2008 and spread to Europe in 2009, brought on by the US subprime mortgage crisis and then exacerbated in the eurozone by the Greek debt restructuring crisis, the Chinese economy continued to accelerate. By April 2008 the yuan had once again gained on the dollar, with the USD:CNY conversion rate standing at ¥6.9920.

Throughout 2010 and 2011 a strengthening US economy caused the dollar to begin gaining against many of the world’s major currencies and to steady somewhat against the yuan. Although the yuan continued to gain against the dollar, the gains had slowed in pace, and by the end of 2012, as the US economy began to stabilize, the exchange rate between the two currencies was at USD:CNY ¥6.2863.

The American economy continued to improve. In 2014 it began to surge ahead, as consumer confidence increased, consumption rose slightly and the employment rate ticked up. The yuan, meanwhile, fell about two percent against the dollar during the year, finishing 2014 at USD:CNY ¥6.1294.

In January 2015, Goldman Sachs released a report predicting that the US economy would continue to show strong growth through at least 2017, improving the dollar’s value against most major currencies. The yuan, meanwhile, had fallen to a conversion rate of USD:CNY ¥6.1438 in February, far from its high of 2012. Analysts predict the yuan will remain stable in the long-run, though some are predicting the it will decline further against the dollar when China decides to lower interest rates.