China’s Shenzhen sees cross-border yuan use jump to record level in 2020
- Shenzhen’s cross-border yuan payments rose 46 per cent to 2.5 trillion yuan (US$386 billion) last year
- The rise bodes well for Beijing in its efforts to boost the use of the currency in international transactions
Shenzhen saw a record level of yuan-denominated cross-border payments last year, an encouraging sign for Chinese authorities trying to reduce the country’s reliance on the US dollar amid uncertain relations with the United States.
Cross-border yuan payments in the southern city hit a record high of 2.5 trillion yuan (US$386 billion) last year, up 46 per cent from 2019, according to data released earlier this week by the local branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).
In addition, cross-border payments denominated in the Chinese currency surpassed those using the US dollar in the January-February period this year, the nation’s central bank said, without providing an absolute number or comparison.
The figures from Shenzhen, a hi-tech hub situated just over the border from Hong Kong, make up only a part of China’s overall cross-border payments, but they bode well for Beijing’s push to internationalise the yuan.
During the latter part of former US president Donald Trump’s administration, Beijing worried that Washington was bent on punishing it by denying access to the dollar-denominated international payment system, leading to calls from within China to redouble efforts to cut reliance on the American currency.