Despite the intense focus on the Chinese currency in the lead-up to formal meetings of the G20 finance ministers and central bankers in Xianghe, just outside Beijing at the weekend, the renminbi was little discussed during its sessions.

And during his sweep through China in the preceding days, John Snow, the Treasury secretary, sought to widen the debate about Beijing's reforms away from just the currency to the need to promote domestic demand growth and deepen financial markets.