China said it will establish an international operations center for its digital yuan in a move to boost the global influence of its currency, the yuan.
Pan Gongshing, Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), announced a step taken to prepare for the internationalization of digital currency at the Luciazui Finance Forum in Shanghai.
In his opening speech Pan announced that they will establish an operations center for international use of the digital yuan.
Stating that the problems with traditional cross-border payment systems are becoming increasingly apparent, Pan said, “There is a need to reduce reliance on a single currency.”
Pan noted that there is a growing demand for improvements in international payment systems, new payment infrastructures and transfer methods are emerging, and stressed that the trend towards a more efficient, secure, inclusive and diverse global financial system will only become stronger in the future.
Digital yuan
The Beijing government began work on an official digital currency called “e-CNY” in 2014.
The digital yuan was put into use with a pilot application launched in four cities in 2020.
The People’s Bank of China expanded the scope of the pilot in 2022, publishing a mobile app that can be used as an electronic wallet for digital yuan on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android stores.
The mobile application was launched in China 12 cities and regions, including Shanghai, Xinjiang, Chingdu, Changsha, Sucou, Xian, Qingdao, Dailan cities, Hainan province, Xiaongan New Area in Hıbey province, and facilities and areas in Beijing and Canjiakou cities, where the Winter Olympics will be held.
