U.S., Chinese officials discuss inclusion of yuan in IMF basket

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Chinese officials on Tuesday discussed Beijing's bid to have the yuan included in the International Monetary Fund's basket of currencies, a senior Treasury official said. The IMF is currently reviewing whether the yuan is both widely used internationally and freely usable, criteria for its inclusion in the Special Drawing Rights basket. "It was discussed and I think China and the U.S. both recognize the importance of the IMF's technical evaluation," the official said following a day of bilateral meetings in Washington. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Eric Beech)