That's ridiculous. CNY is as easily converted as USD, if not more easily.

Duh, of course CNY is easily traded to other currencies on the Forex markets, China's starving for reserves.

But they're actively preventing money from getting _out_ of China, in particular said reserves. If you're making money in China, it's going to stay in China until you jump through a lot of hoops.

I work in China. I wire money out of China on a regular basis to my home account in Canada. Have to give copies of tax forms and a copy of my contract to the bank, but that's about it. Other than that, it's the same as wiring money from Canada to any other country. There is a limit each year, but I've never been able to hit it. And a bunch of my foreign colleagues have half of their salary automatically deposited in USD accounts in their home country. Not me, but the point is that there are options.