the currency of the People's Republic of China, the basic unit of which is the yuan.

1955–60; < Chinese rénmínbi, equivalent to rénmín people + currency Unabridged
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World English Dictionary
renminbi or renminbi yuan (ˌrɛnˌmɪnˈbiː)
n , pl renminbi
another name for the Chinese yuan
[Chinese renmin people + bi currency]
renminbi yuan or renminbi yuan
[Chinese renmin people + bi currency]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Encyclopedia Britannica


monetary unit of China. The yuan is divided into 100 fen and 10 jiao. The People's Bank of China has exclusive authority to issue currency. Banknotes are issued in denominations from 1 fen to 100 yuan. The obverse of some banknotes contains images of communist leaders, such as Mao Zedong, leader of China's communist revolution, whose likeness is pictured on several notes; lower denominations often contain images of people dressed in traditional attire. The reverse side of most coins, which range in denominations from 1 fen to 1 yuan, contains images of historic buildings and the country's diverse landscape. Renminbi, or people's money, became the official name of the currency in 1969.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Some revaluation of the renminbi remains both desirable and inevitable.
What the word needs is the renminbi to become a free floating currency, whose
  value is decided by markets.
But that doesn't really have much to do with the relationship between the
  dollar and the renminbi.
So the tussle between the two would set the pace of renminbi
  internationalization in the near term.
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