ME News message, December 24 (UTC+8), the People's Bank of China and eight other departments issued (Opinions on Financial Support for Accelerating the Construction of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor). (Opinions) propose to explore international cooperation in digital finance. Support provinces (regions, cities) along the route to participate in the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge project, promoting the use of central bank digital currency for cross-border payments with Thailand, Hong Kong, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and others. Support the exploration of advancing the pilot program for cross-border payments of digital renminbi between the mainland and Singapore. Support the construction of cross-border e-commerce digital service platforms in qualified provinces (regions, cities) along the route, connecting with cross-border e-commerce and digital trade platform companies in countries like Singapore to enhance cross-border e-commerce service capabilities.
Expand the cross-border use of the Renminbi. Strengthen bilateral currency cooperation with countries in Southeast Asia and Central Asia to create supportive conditions for the cross-border use of the Renminbi. Deepen the pilot projects for higher-level trade and investment Renminbi settlement facilitation, supporting foreign trade and economic enterprises to use more Renminbi for settlement. Support investors from ASEAN countries to invest in Renminbi and reinvest domestically. Encourage Renminbi pricing settlement for bulk commodity trading. Support banking financial institutions in cross-border transportation of Renminbi cash. Support banks in using Renminbi for pricing and settlement when conducting cross-border financing, cross-border guarantees, and cross-border asset transfer businesses. Support qualified legal banks in provinces (regions, cities) along the route to join the Renminbi cross-border payment system. Leverage the advantages of digital Renminbi for payment and settlement, low cost, and programmability, research using digital Renminbi smart contracts to create innovative solutions, and explore the feasibility of expanding the application of digital Renminbi in scenarios such as channel payment settlement, financing, and tax refunds. Research to expand the geographical scope of digital Renminbi cross-border applications, using bilateral and multilateral cross-border business models to reduce costs and increase efficiency for channel cross-border payments. (Source: ME)
