China has slowly started to use its economic might to carve out a larger role for the yuan , which is still not fully convertible.

“I think the shortest route would be if China liberalised its economy and allowed the convertibility of the yuan,” said Kudrin, a close ally of prime minister Vladimir Putin.

In a nod to Russia’s role as one of the world’s 20 largest economies, whose leaders have met to coordinate a response to the downturn, Medvedev also struck a constructive note, saying that all governments had reacted well to the crisis.

Medvedev suggested that Russia would like to see more substantive change — including an end to such an oversize role for the dollar. Russia’s economic critique of the dollar, continuing for several years, comes alongside increased political tensions with the United States. Yet Russia’s central bank, too, keeps about 50 per cent of its reserves in dollars. To stabilize exchange rates, Medvedev said, governments should create a new reserve currency. Russia has backed an expanded role for special drawing rights units of the International Monetary Fund.