Free Republic

People across China rang in the Lunar New Year on Sunday with large family gatherings and crowds visiting temples after the government lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy, marking the biggest festive celebration since the pandemic began three years ago. The Lunar New Year is the most important annual holiday in China. Each year is named after one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac in a repeating cycle, with this year being the Year of the Rabbit. For the past three years, celebrations were muted in the shadow of the pandemic. With the easing of most COVID-19 restrictions, many...

When the state-owned Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) recently announced that it would begin allowing US-based customers to trade the Chinese yuan here, it represented the biggest step yet in China's ongoing campaign to build global acceptance for its currency. That desire to boost interest in the yuan in the global currency and trade markets is bolstered by the fact that Beijing's foreign-exchange reserves have now reached a staggering $2.8 trillion. For investors, this new China yuan policy marks the beginning of a new era in global investing -- in commodities, in import-export activities, and in the trading of the...