PBOC: The renminbi has become China's largest settlement currency for external receipts and payments and the world's second-largest trade financing currency.

Recently, the People's Bank of China released a report on the internationalization of the renminbi. It noted that since 2025, the renminbi has been used more widely in cross-border transactions. In 2025, the total amount of cross-border renminbi receipts and payments for customers by banks was 70.6 trillion yuan, up 10.1% year on year; from January to June 2026, the total amount of cross-border renminbi receipts and payments for customers by banks was 42.4 trillion yuan, up 21.4% year on year. The renminbi has become China's largest settlement currency for external receipts and payments, the world's second-largest trade financing currency, the third-largest payment currency (on a full-caliber basis), and the fifth-largest foreign exchange trading currency; the weight of the renminbi in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency basket ranks third globally. The ability of cross-border renminbi business to serve the real economy has continued to improve. The People's Bank of China has focused on trade and investment facilitation and introduced a number of cross-border renminbi policies, effectively providing policy support for market entities to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In 2025, the amount of cross-border renminbi receipts and payments for goods trade in China was 13.7 trillion yuan, up 10.6% year on year, accounting for 28.7% of the total cross-border receipts and payments in both domestic and foreign currencies during the same period, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from 2024. From January to June 2026, the proportion of renminbi settlement under goods trade was 29.1%, up 1 percentage point year on year. The renminbi's investment and financing functions have been enhanced. The People's Bank of China, together with relevant departments, has steadily promoted the two-way opening of the financial market, optimized interconnected mechanism arrangements such as "Bond Connect" and "Swap Connect," expanded the scale and scope of Bond Connect "Southbound Trading," promoted the opening of the treasury bond futures market, and created a repo tool for overseas central banks, providing convenience for overseas institutions to allocate renminbi assets. In 2025, the scale of panda bonds issued by overseas issuers was 183.06 billion yuan, maintaining a relatively high level. From January to June 2026, issuance was 160.03 billion yuan, up about 70% year on year. As of the end of June 2026, the balance of financial assets such as domestic renminbi stocks, bonds, loans, and deposits held by overseas entities totaled 11.3 trillion yuan, up 9.2% year on year. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the scale of renminbi reserves held by reporting countries in the IMF's Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) survey was 260.1 billion US dollars. The international network for the use of the renminbi has continued to improve. The People's Bank of China has continuously deepened currency cooperation among central banks. From 2025 to June 2026, it signed or renewed bilateral local currency swap agreements with the central banks of more than ten countries and regions, including Canada, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, Egypt, and Serbia, supported Hong Kong, Macao, Turkey, Singapore, and others in establishing mechanisms for the regular use of renminbi swap funds, and better leveraged the positive role of local currency swaps in maintaining financial stability and promoting trade and investment facilitation. The layout of renminbi clearing banks has been continuously optimized. From 2025 to June 2026, the People's Bank of China newly established renminbi clearing banks in Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, authorized a second renminbi clearing bank in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, and authorized a renminbi clearing bank in Africa. The Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) has expanded its coverage and provides more efficient and convenient renminbi clearing services. The offshore renminbi market has developed steadily. The People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (hereinafter referred to as the "HKMA") launched a number of cooperative measures to connect the two markets and facilitate renminbi transactions, supported the HKMA in expanding the renminbi business fund arrangement to 500 billion yuan, and promoted the development of Hong Kong as an offshore renminbi hub. Support was given to Shanghai to take the lead in building an offshore financial system that matches an international financial center. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the balance of renminbi deposits in major offshore markets was about 1.8 trillion yuan, at a historical high. In 2025, the amount of offshore renminbi bond issuance was about 1.4 trillion yuan, up 16.4% year on year. From January to June 2026, the amount of offshore renminbi bond issuance was 896.1 billion yuan, up 94.4% from the same period last year. This article was compiled and selected from the official website of the "Central Bank." GMTEight editor: Jiang Yuanhua.