Recently, the Chinese currency fell to its lowest level since late 2008. The renminbi has been trading around 6.89 to the US dollar. The plunge is typically explained with the anticipated US Federal Reserve rate increase in December and president-elect Donald Trump's threat to label China a currency manipulator and slap tariffs on Chinese exports.

In reality, there is much more to the story.

In the long term, China's growth will translate to currency power in foreign-exchange markets. In October, the renminbi officially joined the International Monetary Fund's currency reserve basket, known as Special Drawing Rights. In the coming decade, the renminbi will expand rapidly through the IMF reserve basket, the allocations of central banks, and those of public, private, sovereign and individual investors.