HONG KONG — The International Monetary Fund on Monday designated the Chinese renminbi as one of the world’s elite currencies, a major milestone that underscores the country’s rising financial and economic heft.

The decision will help pave the way for broader use of the renminbi in trade and finance, securing China’s standing as a global economic power. Just four other currencies — the dollar, the euro, the pound and the yen — have the IMF designation.

But joining this group also introduces new uncertainty into China’s economy and financial system, at a time when the country’s growth is already slowing. To meet the IMF requirement, China was forced to give up some of its tight control over the currency, which could inject fresh volatility into the economy.

The IMF designation, an accounting unit known as the special drawing rights, bestows global importance.

Many central banks follow this benchmark in building their reserves, which countries hold to help protect their economies in times of trouble. By adding the renminbi to this group, the IMF effectively considers a currency to be safe and reliable.

It is a “recognition of the progress that the Chinese authorities have made in the past years in reforming China’s monetary and financial systems,” Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, said in a statement. “The continuation and deepening of these efforts will bring about a more robust international monetary and financial system, which in turn will support the growth and stability of China and the global economy.”

It is also a point of pride for Beijing, which made the IMF designation one of its highest economic policy priorities. The renminbi’s new status “will improve the international monetary system and safeguard global financial stability,” President Xi Jinping of China said in mid-November.

Besides the symbolic weight it carries, the IMF label brings specific benefits. China, for example, will gain more influence in international bailouts denominated in the fund’s accounting unit, like Greece’s debt deal.