Mr. Geithner is certainly right that China needs to adjust its export-dependent growth model, which has struggled amid the decline of global demand.

WSJ: Geithner's China Pitch

The yuan's acceptance among investors would also require the kind of reform China needs to wean its economy from its investment-heavy, export-oriented growth model.

ECONOMIST: The world economy

The commitment of China to an export-led growth model, matched by a willingness from rich-world consumers to keep spending, created persistent surpluses in China in particular.

WSJ: We Need Greater Global Governance

On China, Soros says the country has to change its economic model from depending on export-led growth to consumption-led growth, and that that transition is already underway.

FORBES: Soros Lets It Rip In Question Time At Davos

It is struggling to shift China away from the current unsustainable model, where growth is propelled by vast investment and export-led manufacturing, towards one where domestic consumption plays a bigger role.

ECONOMIST: China's future