A famed Chinese economic expert forecasted at a forum here on Tuesday that it would not take long for the yuan to be internationalized though there was no timetable available.

Liu Guangxi, a professor and director of the science and technology department under the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), made the comment when delivering a speech at a forum about the roles China and Japan will play in finance cooperation in Asia.

Liu said there was demand for the internalization of RMB. He believed the convertibility of the yuan is increasing.

Tatsuo Yamasaki, senior deputy director-general of the international bureau of Japan's Ministry of Finance, said he learned there were discussions about the internationalization of the yuan but he believed the U.S. dollar would still be popular in the near future.

The forum, gathering experts from both China and Japan, was initiated in 2009 by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, a private nonprofit organization in Japan.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2010)