Quality of yuan's cross-border and worldwide use is steadily improving

The internationalization of the renminbi is following a steady path that responds to market demand. Its foundation lies in serving the real economy, while its primary driving force is determined by market choices and forces, said an official of China's central bank.

Speaking at the Global RMB Forum during the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2026, held in Beijing on Wednesday, Xi Yu, deputy director-general of the macroprudential policy bureau of the People's Bank of China, said as the international monetary system has become more diversified in recent years, an increasing number of businesses have chosen to use the RMB, also known as the yuan, for cross-border settlements.

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Chinese banks operating in the country — along with numerous foreign banks and financial groups — have been actively responding to this market demand by developing more use cases for the RMB and expanding their financial services.

"The use of the RMB has evolved from its initial applications in merchandise trade settlement, trade financing and direct investment to a broader range of areas, including financing across multiple sectors, securities investment and asset management. Both the quality and efficiency of the RMB's cross-border and international use are steadily improving," Xi said.

The 2026 White Paper on the Global Use of RMB, unveiled by Bank of China, said the total value of cross-border RMB settlement in China was approximately 70.6 trillion yuan ($10.58 trillion) in 2025, up 10.2 percent year-on-year.

Lu Lei, deputy governor of the PBOC, said on Sept 10 that overseas entities currently hold more than 11 trillion yuan in onshore RMB financial assets, and the cumulative issuance of panda bonds has exceeded 1.3 trillion yuan.

Looking ahead, Zhang Hui, president of Bank of China, said international use of the Chinese currency has substantial room for growth. China's development is injecting greater stability and certainty into the world economy while enhancing the attractiveness of RMB-denominated assets.

"As a virtuous cycle of borrowing, using and investing in the renminbi gathers pace worldwide, the currency is increasingly becoming a preferred choice for users around the globe seeking to improve payment efficiency, enhance investment returns and manage risks effectively," Zhang said.

During the process, Hong Kong plays an important role in RMB clearing, financing and investment, and risk management.

Currently, more than 75 percent of global offshore RMB payments are processed through Hong Kong. As of end-July, the outstanding balance of RMB deposits and certificates of deposit in Hong Kong had reached approximately 1.3 trillion yuan, making it the world's largest offshore RMB liquidity pool. Last year, offshore RMB lending in Hong Kong hit a record high of 935 billion yuan, said Michael Wong Wai-lun, deputy financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

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The Hong Kong SAR government is actively advancing a range of measures to expand the offshore RMB market and make it deeper and more stable. To enhance offshore RMB liquidity, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has increased the size of its RMB Business Facility to 500 billion yuan and extended the loan tenor to up to three years, Wong said.

In addition, Hong Kong is promoting the issuance of a wider variety of offshore RMB products and will further improve the offshore RMB yield curve, he said.

RMB business is also an important part of the broader UK-China financial relationship. According to this year's London RMB business annual report, the total cumulative RMB clearing volume in London reached 48.15 trillion yuan in 2025, and the average daily clearing volume increased by 55.33 percent to 191.09 billion yuan.

Contact the writers at jiangxueqing@chinadaily.com.cn