We may have one country, two systems - but just how many currencies does China need? The answer from most in the financial world is to maintain the status quo, at least until the yuan becomes fully convertible.
The fate of the Hong Kong dollar has been a recurring concern since the 1997-98 East Asian financial crisis in which the city, newly returned to Beijing's rule and with the help of the central government, won a currency battle against global speculators, including billionaire business magnate George Soros, to defend the dollar.
The question is a hot topic again after Hong Kong's former central banker, Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, urged the city to review its peg to the US dollar and consider linking to the yuan or a basket of currencies.
So far, Yam has received more complaints than compliments for his opinions, voiced in an academic paper released on Tuesday.
The International Monetary Fund yesterday threw its support behind the Hong Kong government, which was firm its assurance that the Hong Kong-US dollar peg would remain unchanged.
Chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying was quick to describe the paper as 'Yam's personal views only'.
Writing in a client report yesterday, Royal Bank of Scotland analyst Erik Lueth said the peg was unlikely to be ditched over the next seven to 10 years, partly because Hong Kong was more closely aligned with the global and US business cycle than that of the mainland.