China opens digital yuan hub in Shanghai to boost global use

[SHANGHAI] China’s central bank has opened a digital yuan operations centre in Shanghai featuring platforms for cross-border payments, blockchain technology and digital assets, marking another step in the country’s push for global adoption of its currency.

The People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) new digital yuan hub will oversee the development and operation of cross-border payment systems and blockchain infrastructure, while also promoting connectivity between domestic and international financial networks, according to state-run media Xinhua News Agency on Thursday (Sep 25), citing the central bank.

PBOC deputy governor Lu Lei said a preliminary cross-border financial infrastructure for the digital yuan is already in place, according to the report. The centre is expected to support trade, investment, and innovation in digital finance, while strengthening links between China’s financial systems and those overseas.

The new centre is one of several measures that PBOC governor Pan Gongsheng announced in June to open up China’s financial markets and expand the currency’s global reach. Other initiatives include exploring yuan futures trading to diversify currency products and encouraging trade companies to issue offshore bonds in Shanghai.

China has been positioning the yuan as a rival to the US dollar, part of President Xi Jinping’s broader effort to build a financially powerful nation anchored by currency stability. The push has gained urgency amid escalating trade tensions under US President Donald Trump’s second term.

Meanwhile, the yuan has already overtaken the US dollar in recent years for China’s cross-border transactions, and the country’s own payment system, CIPS, has been gaining traction. Earlier this year, the system expanded to cover more foreign banks, including United Overseas Bank. BLOOMBERG