China will set up an “international operations centre” for the digital yuan to boost the global influence of the renminbi, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng announced at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on Wednesday.
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The measure was among eight financial policies Pan announced during the opening of the annual finance-facing forum, which also included pledges that China would pilot a range of structural monetary policy tools in Shanghai.
The policies come at a time when growing tensions with the United States over trade and technology issues have added urgency to China’s attempts to expand overseas adoption of the yuan and accelerate the rise of Shanghai as a global financial hub.
“Problems with the traditional cross-border payment system are becoming increasingly prominent,” Pan said. “There is a growing global call for improvements, and new payment infrastructures and settlement methods are emerging, which is driving the global system toward greater efficiency, security, inclusiveness and diversity – a trend that will only strengthen in the future.”
He added that China had built a multi-channel, wide-coverage cross-border renminbi clearing network after more than a decade of development.
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The trials will include refinancing schemes using credit-based relending for foreign trade enterprises, cross-border trade refinancing with rediscount support, and an expanded green finance programme. The latter will widen the scope of China’s carbon reduction support tool to include transition finance and region-specific industries.
