China will boost the yuan’s global reach with new operations centre, PBOC says

China will set up an “international operations centre” for the digital yuan to boost the global influence of the renminbi, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng announced at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The measure was among eight financial policies Pan announced during the opening of the annual finance-facing forum, which also included pledges that China would pilot a range of structural monetary policy tools in Shanghai.

The policies come at a time when growing tensions with the United States over trade and technology issues have added urgency to China’s attempts to expand overseas adoption of the yuan and accelerate the rise of Shanghai as a global financial hub.

The trials will include refinancing schemes using credit-based relending for foreign trade enterprises, cross-border trade refinancing with rediscount support, and an expanded green finance programme. The latter will widen the scope of China’s carbon reduction support tool to include transition finance and region-specific industries.

“We will actively support Shanghai in pioneering new structural tools, such as blockchain-based trade finance and innovation bonds,” Pan said. “This includes supporting private equity firms in issuing tech innovation bonds and promoting the use of risk-sharing mechanisms in tech innovation bond issuance.”

China’s central bank also announced plans to establish a trade reporting repository for the interbank market, aimed at consolidating and analysing high-frequency transaction data across sub-markets – including bonds, money markets, derivatives, gold and commercial paper. The system is designed to support financial institutions, macroeconomic policymaking and regulatory oversight.