Shanghai to Host Global Operations Centre for Digital Yuan

China's central bank governor, Pan Gongsheng, announced at the Lujiazui Forum on 18 June that a dedicated international operations centre for the e‑CNY will be established in Shanghai. The move signals Beijing's renewed push to extend the digital yuan's reach in global transactions and shift the balance of currency power.
Pan described stablecoins and central bank digital currencies as 'reshaping cross‑border payments', emphasising that global financial infrastructure needs stronger regulatory alignment. He argued that traditional cross‑border payment systems are inefficient, vulnerable to politicisation, and susceptible to unilateral sanctions.
The Shanghai centre will serve as a nexus for international e‑CNY operations, aiming to streamline digital yuan transactions abroad and enhance integration with global financial markets. This facility complements efforts to boost the Cross‑Border Interbank Payment System, which has recently onboarded major international banks, including Standard Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
ADVERTISEMENT
Governor Pan framed this initiative as part of a broader strategy to foster a 'multi‑polar international monetary system'. By promoting competition among key currencies, China seeks to reduce reliance on the US dollar while enhancing financial system resilience.
Pan also called for more coordinated global regulation of stablecoins and CBDCs. As digital monetary instruments gain traction, he said global oversight must be harmonised to manage risks effectively.
Beyond infrastructure, Chinese regulators affirmed their commitment to exchange‑rate stability and further opening domestic financial markets. Zhu Hexin of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange noted improved tools to counter external pressures, while Li Yunze of the National Financial Regulatory Administration highlighted efforts to foster a transparent and predictable environment for international investors.
Analysts say China's timeline aligns with expanding e‑CNY pilots and integration of public transport systems in several cities, such as Chengdu, Beijing, Suzhou, and Shanghai. The Shanghai centre appears aimed at extending these domestic innovations into globally scaled applications.
Internationally, China has taken part in multilateral CBDC initiatives such as Project mBridge, alongside the BIS, Hong Kong, Thailand, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. This collaboration signals a shift toward creating interoperable digital payment bridges and presents an alternative to dollar‑centred systems.
Observers suggest that China aims to balance integration with established structures such as SWIFT while developing parallel alternatives like CIPS. That strategy could help counteract geopolitical vulnerabilities inherent in dominant payment networks.
Critics caution that for the digital yuan to gain traction, China must address capital‑account restrictions, strengthen market transparency, and win international trust in its legal and regulatory systems.
Yet this latest initiative dovetails with China's longer‑term ambition to internationalise the renminbi. The launch of the Shanghai operations centre — with its promise to enable faster, more efficient overseas e‑CNY transactions — may mark a significant milestone in Beijing's drive toward a more diversified global monetary order.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Zawya

an hour ago

• Zawya

World Bank Group considers $500mln boost for South Africa's transmission expansion

The World Bank Group is considering financing $500 million of South Africa's participation in a new credit guarantee facility meant to unlock private financing for a massive transmission grid expansion plan, a senior bank official told Reuters. South Africa is courting private investment for an ambitious plan to add 14,500 km of new lines and enhanced transformer capacity over the next decade, at an estimated total cost of $25 billion, as it looks to emerge from a decade of crippling power cuts that have battered the economy. The proposed credit guarantee vehicle aims to help overcome transmission infrastructure bottlenecks that have held back some 20 gigawatts of renewable energy from connecting to the national electricity network, according to Standard Bank. Many of the renewable projects are situated in the sun-baked Northern Cape or windswept Western and Eastern Cape regions, far from existing transmission corridors linking most of South Africa to the coal-powered generation plants in the north. Operating as a stand-alone entity, the credit guarantee vehicle would issue guarantees instead of South Africa's treasury and would cover payment defaults, for instance, should something go awry during the roll-out. "We could cover or be committed to finance half a billion U.S. dollars of the government of South Africa's first loss or junior capital participation," Yadviga Semikolenova, a senior World Bank manager, said late on Thursday. South Africa has sought not to put further pressure on its strained finances by offering additional sovereign guarantees, as it faces lacklustre growth, high debt-servicing costs and the failure to agree a VAT hike within the government coalition this year. The treasury has committed to providing junior or first loss capital of 20%, which will be an initial $100 million before moving up to $500 million. The credit guarantee vehicle aims to eventually grow to $2.5 billion, an April 4 treasury document shows. The document, seen by Reuters, details a package under discussion with the World Bank Group that includes a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to finance the treasury's junior capital and a potential $100 million direct injection from the International Finance Corporation. The bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is also considering reinsurance and political risk cover. Approval from the World Bank Group board was expected later this year, treasury officials said. The treasury said in April it had sought backing for the facility from several development financiers, including the Development Bank of Southern Africa, African Development Bank, Germany's KfW and British International Investment. The DBSA said it was considering participating while BII said it could not comment on any transaction that it has not made a commitment to or announced. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Tim Cocks and Alison Williams)

Zawya

2 hours ago

• Zawya

Mideast Stocks: UAE stocks bounce back amid hopes of regional de-escalation

Stock exchanges in the United Arab Emirates rebounded on Friday, buoyed by hopes of a potential de-escalation in regional tensions. Investor sentiment improved following European efforts to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table and a pause in U.S. involvement in the Middle East conflict. The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump would decide on "whether or not to go" with U.S. involvement in the conflict in the next two weeks, citing the possibility of negotiations involving Iran in the near future. Dubai's main index snapped a three-day losing streak, rising 1.6%, driven by gains in real estate and materials sector stocks. Among the top performers, Dubai's developer Emaar Properties jumped 1.2%, while state-owned Parkin Company advanced 4.8%. Separately, UAE created a new ministry of foreign trade, and appointed Thani al Zeyoudi as its minister, the United Arab Emirates prime minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a post on X on Friday. Abu Dhabi's benchmark index (.FTFADGI) also rebounded, gaining 1% after three consecutive sessions of losses. First Abu Dhabi Bank rose 2.7%, while Adnoc Gas advanced 2.5%. Real estate developer Aldar Properties gained 4.5% after reporting over AED 3.5 billion in sales at its Fahid Beach Residences and The Beach House projects. Despite Friday's gains, Dubai's index posted a second consecutive weekly loss, down 0.2% after nine straight weeks of gains. Abu Dhabi mirrored the trend with a 0.5% weekly decline, according to LSEG data. Meanwhile, oil prices — a key driver of Gulf financial markets — fell 2.3% to $77.04 per barrel as of 11:40 GMT. (Reporting by Mohd Edrees in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

Zawya

2 hours ago

• Zawya

South Africa's top banks pass first climate stress test but data gaps identified

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's six systematically important banks passed the central bank's inaugural climate-risk stress test, but the exercise exposed some modelling shortfalls as institutions had not fully embedded climate-risk indicators into their frameworks, a financial stability review showed. The gaps could mask longer-term losses. The review is the central bank's bi-annual report on the health and resilience of the country's financial system. The latest edition was released on Thursday. The six banks, Absa, Capitec, FirstRand , Investec, Nedbank and Standard Bank of South Africa, used climate-scenario frameworks from the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) to model potential losses on their climate-sensitive loans. The NGFS is a global coalition of central banks and supervisors. About one-third of bank books sit in the most exposed sectors to climate change namely real estate, household lending and transport. "There were different challenges in each organization so its hard to make broad-based recommendations," said Vafa Anvari, divisional head of macro financial vulnerabilities in the Financial Stability Department of the central bank. "We were working with the six largest banks on how they intended to close these gaps going forward and we were quite comfortable with what they indicated they will be doing in the next couple of years to close these gaps. "(Since) this was the first exercise of its kind in South Africa, you expect to shake the trees and see what falls out and in that context it was very illuminating." Earlier this month torrential rains and gale-force winds inundated South Africa's Eastern Cape province, triggering property and business-interruption claims.