Commentator of this newspaper
With the high-quality development of China's economy and the high-level opening of finance, the internationalization of the RMB has achieved a major breakthrough.
On June 22, the joint cooperation of the cross-border fast payment system interconnection (hereinafter referred to as "Cross-border Payment Link") launched by the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority was officially launched. The initial participating institutions include ICBC, CCB, HSBC, and Hang Seng, marking that the fast payment systems of the mainland and Hong Kong have achieved interconnection. In the future, residents of both places can handle cross-border remittances in real time.
Interestingly, at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum held recently, Governor Pan Gongsheng of the People's Bank of China announced eight financial opening measures, including the establishment of a digital RMB international operation center, promoting the international operation of digital RMB and the development of financial market business.
The acceleration of the internationalization of the RMB has a symbolic significance: On June 18, the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) successfully connected for the first time with core foreign banks in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Singapore offshore RMB centers, achieving a historic leap in the global service network coverage.
In recent years, the process of RMB internationalization has continued to deepen, and its attractiveness and influence on a global scale have gradually increased. The RMB has become the second largest trade financing currency globally; according to full口径 calculation, it has become the third largest payment currency globally; and it ranks third in the weight of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency basket of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Over 80 foreign central banks or monetary authorities have included the RMB in their foreign exchange reserves. In 2024, the amount of cross-border RMB receipts and payments was about 64 trillion yuan, an increase of 23% year-on-year.
Notably, the rapid development of stablecoins related to the internationalization of the RMB has attracted widespread market attention. At the 2025 Lujiazui Forum, Pan Gongsheng mentioned "stablecoins" for the first time, pointing out that emerging technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledger have driven the vigorous development of central bank digital currencies and stablecoins, realizing "payment as settlement," reshaping the traditional payment system from the bottom up, and significantly shortening the cross-border payment chain.
Stablecoins, which are linked to physical currencies or assets, are viewed by the market as a bridge between digital finance and traditional finance. It can be considered an iteration and improvement of the development of cryptocurrency (currency) based on blockchain technology. Due to their reliability and "decentralized" design, they are believed to have great potential in the field of cross-border payments and settlements.
For China, although the development of stablecoins may bring challenges to the regulation of domestic capital flows across borders, it needs to be recognized that this is a major trend in the development of financial technology and a positive gain brought by the significant improvement in financial efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to follow the wave of stablecoin development, use new technologies, accelerate the pace of capital account liberalization, and promote the process of RMB internationalization.
In a sense, the establishment of a digital RMB international operation center by the central bank will help the digital RMB circulate more conveniently in the international market, expand the scope of use of the RMB in cross-border trade and investment, and enhance the RMB's international voice and pricing power. The joint launch of the cross-border payment link by the central bank and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will play a key role in promoting the internationalization of the RMB, helping to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international financial center and offshore RMB center, further promoting the use of the RMB in cross-border transactions, and promoting high-level opening-up.
From the perspective of the internationalization of the RMB, stablecoins issued with offshore RMB as reserves ensure the stability of the value by being linked to the RMB. Hong Kong, as an offshore RMB center, has a mature financial infrastructure and an international market environment, making it suitable as a testing ground for RMB stablecoins. Therefore, the promulgation of the "Stablecoin Ordinance" in Hong Kong is not accidental. It undoubtedly represents an active exploration for RMB stablecoins, which will help further promote the use of the RMB in global payments and settlements and assist the process of RMB internationalization.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519177996356354623/
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