PBOC to promote further cross-border use of RMB

A staff member counts Chinese currency renminbi at a bank in Linyi, East China's Shandong province. China will further facilitate cross-border use of the renminbi by promoting pilot programs to boost trade and investment, making it possible for more foreign central banks and monetary authorities to hold the currency as a reserve asset, according to a report from the nation's central bank. Cross-border use of the RMB has sustained rapid progress and maintained robust growth this year, even amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely hit global trade, finance and the economy, analysts said, commenting on the report released late on Friday by the People's Bank of China. More than 70 central banks and monetary authorities worldwide have incorporated the RMB into their foreign exchange reserves so far, according to the PBOC's 2020 RMB Internationalization Report. Due to the impact of China-US trade frictions and other external vulnerabilities, the foreign exchange market showed increased fluctuations, and more enterprises prefer to use the RMB as a safe investment asset to mitigate risks, said Guan Tao, chief global economist at BOC International Co Ltd. Another survey conducted recently by the Bank of China also showed that the international currency status of the RMB reached a new high in 2019.