Geithner open to Zhou suggestion, but backs buck

Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, said on Wednesday that he was open to People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan's suggestion of expanding the use of special drawing rights (SDRs) but affirmed the dollar's strength.

Zhou earlier this week advocated the use of SDRs as an international reserve currency as part of a move towards a more stable global monetary order. His comments were widely interpreted as an attempt to downplay the dollar's role as a reserve currency.

Geithner told a