Short answers, pulled from the story.
The People's Bank of China issued its first paper currency in December 1948 to replace regional currencies circulating in Communist-controlled territories. This initial issuance occurred one year before the official proclamation of the People's Republic of China.
The name renminbi means people's currency and was officially adopted in June 1949. This adoption marked a symbolic break from the past and established a unified monetary system for the new state.
The People's Bank of China lifted the fixed exchange rate peg in July 2005 to allow the currency to appreciate in a managed float system. This decision followed decades of the currency being fixed at highly overvalued levels to support industrial development.
China's central bank announced the release of the digital renminbi in October 2019 after years of preparation and development. Pilot programs for the digital currency began in 2020 in cities such as Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Chengdu.
The fifth series of renminbi banknotes features the portrait of Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong on all banknotes. This series began in 1999 and replaced the various leaders, workers, and representations of China's ethnic groups that had been featured previously.
The renminbi became the first emerging market currency to be included in the IMF's special drawing rights basket in 2016. It received an initial weighting of 10.9% upon inclusion in the basket.