Zhou Xiaochuan, China's central bank governor, has delivered a powerful message to the world this week. He wants an end to the dollar era. This is not sabre-rattling. He has made serious proposals for a reserve currency to rival the greenback and he deserves a hearing.

During the 1997 crisis, Asia's emerging market economies learnt a painful lesson: do not run out of foreign reserves. China, in common with many other Asian emerging market economies, built up towering mounds of foreign assets to give itself a backstop against future emergencies.

The People's Republic has, however, over-exposed itself to the US, piling up dollar-denominated securities. In January, its stock of US Treasuries was about $739bn – a startling leap from $535bn in June last year. Yet Washington puts domestic economic needs before its creditors; the Beijing authorities now worry that possible future inflation could cost them dearly.