On May 31, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was quoted by the BusinessWeek on US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's recent visit to Beijing.
China is now pushing for a larger international role for its currency, which would by necessity weaken the leading global role the U.S. dollar now plays.
Wenran noted in the article that this is the beginning of the end for the U.S. dollar if attention is brought to the bigger historical trend. But he also concedes that it could take years for the yuan to become fully convertible and really rival the dollar.
You can read the article here.