have brought about extraordinary growth over the past 30 years.

Now China's leaders face a challenge

of making that growth more sustainable in the years to come.

Part of their strategy

is the opening up of the country's currency -

the renminbi or RMB -

to the rest of the world.

I've come here to Wuhan in central China.

This is a city of more than 10 million people.

If you want to see the real China and understand its economy,

this is one of the places to come.

I want to meet some of the people behind this growth

and find out how the renminbi will play a part

in the next stage of the country's development.

Mr Luo, what did the place behind me look like 20 years ago?

This place was the countryside where farmers grew vegetables and crops.

It looked very different to the city.

But with industrial development taking place over there,

we now have new buildings and factories.

The urban and rural areas are connected. There isn't a dividing line now.

This is a clear manifestation of strong economic growth.

At the heart of Wuhan's expansion is the construction of 13 metro lines.

When do you estimate all lines will be completed?

I think all 13 lines will be open by 2015.

Now we are bidding for five high-speed railway projects.

Wuhan may not have the glamour of Beijing or Shanghai,

but economists say it's this city and hundreds of others like it

that hold the key to China's future growth.

When you see Wuhan today, it's like a giant construction site

and almost like a ghost town.

But maybe 10 years later, it will become something like Shanghai's Pudong.

One of the most important engines for China's growth

is, really, the migrant workers.

There are no opportunities in the villages,

so they come to the cities.

Today, in Chinese cities, if 200 million migrant workers went back home,

the city would not run.

That's the secret of China's growth.

I used to live in Jiangsu and had never been to Wuhan.

It takes 11 to 12 hours by coach from Jiangsu to Wuhan.

Why didn't you stay in your home town?

As I work in the clothing industry and Wuhan has many clothing businesses,

it has more job opportunities for me.

Also, the pay here is higher than back home.

What Miss She has done is the same as millions of others.

She has taken the journey from countryside to city

in search of a better life.

That trend of urbanisation is driven by companies like her employer,

the Lovegod Group.

If they keep growing, the workers keep coming.

Lovegod Group's CEO and founder is Miss Hu Aidi

and she is confident the growth will continue.

Wuhan Lovegod Group was founded in 1995.

We have Lovegod shops

in premium department stores

in 98% of cities across China.

Do you manufacture products for others?

90% of our exported products

are manufactured for other brands,

for example, H&M, Zara, among many others.

Meanwhile, we're exporting and promoting our own Lovegod brand.

For your transactions with foreign businesses,

have you ever considered using RMB?

We have talked about it with our clients,

especially our major European ones.

Their response has been positive.

For example, H&M settles some of the small trade in RMB.

Has HSBC been able to help the client transact in RMB?

Do you know what?

The Lovegod Group came to us for help

to mitigate its foreign exchange risk.

We at HSBC have a presence in over 88 countries in the world.

So, for example, we can ask a German colleague for help,

to talk with the Lovegod Group's end buyers.

And if their buyers are willing to pay in RMB,

the Lovegod Group can provide better terms and pricing for the buyers,

so it's a win-win situation.

People should be ready for the day when the RMB becomes a global currency,

like the US dollar or euro,

and is used in trade settlement.

Hu Aidi is making plans for the future.

She's building and investing for significant international growth.

I was born and raised in Wuhan.

The headquarters has always been based here.

We've almost finished our new industrial park

and if we can move in next year,

we will be able to set a three-year target

to double our current revenue of 1.45 billion.

How do you see the future of the Group?

We are driven to make Lovegod an international brand.

As companies like the Lovegod Group grow,

so does Wuhan itself.

This is no boom town.

The city is planning for the future and building for the long term.

The Chinese people, for the last 30 years...

What they have been trying to do is feed themselves,

but now the situation has changed.

The Chinese now are getting richer and richer.

They want to consume,

and they want to consume, not necessarily in China.

When they spend, they have RMB.

The Chinese will consume,

and that consumption will basically become

the main engine for the global economy.

It's clear that the last 30 years of strong economic growth

is powering the international use of the renminbi.

And now, it's the renminbi that will power China's economy

as it moves into its next stage of growth

in the coming years.