China Intensifies Promotion of Digital Yuan
China is increasingly promoting the use of the digital yuan, or e-CNY, by expanding the role of banks within its digital currency ecosystem. This step forms part of Beijing’s strategy to accelerate adoption while challenging the dominance of the US dollar-based global financial system.
According to sources familiar with the plans, China’s central bank will appoint approximately 12 additional banks to handle the digital yuan. This adds to the list of 10 banks that were previously involved in the project.
Some of the banks set to join include Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, China Everbright Bank, and Bank of Ningbo. However, there is no certainty yet on when these banks will officially receive full permission to manage e-CNY.
This effort demonstrates China’s seriousness in promoting the use of the digital yuan in the real economy. However, since its launch in 2019, its adoption has progressed relatively slowly, particularly because the public is accustomed to digital payment systems such as Alibaba’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay.
Nevertheless, analysts see the digital yuan’s great potential in cross-border transactions. This currency is viewed as an alternative to the global payment system long dominated by the US dollar, including networks like SWIFT.
China’s steps also align with strict policies towards cryptocurrencies. Beijing is known to crack down harshly on crypto assets and ban stablecoins, differing from the US approach, which opens more space for the private sector in digital currency development.
“The US bans central bank digital currencies to make room for the private sector. Meanwhile, China closes that space,” said Chief Operating Officer of Winfield Global Capital, Robin Zhang, quoted from Business Times on Monday (23/3/2026).
To strengthen its global strategy, China’s central bank also established a digital yuan operations centre in Shanghai last year. Moreover, since early 2026, e-CNY holdings have begun to earn interest to increase its appeal.
In terms of transactions, the cumulative value of digital yuan has reached 16.7 trillion yuan as of last November. Although it appears large, this figure is still far below the total payment transactions in China, which reached 128 trillion yuan in just one year.
Analysts assess that China’s ambitions go beyond mere domestic payment efficiency. Further, the digital yuan is projected to become an important tool in the internationalisation of the yuan and in building alternative financial systems outside US dollar dominance.
“The importance of this lies in China’s ambition to gradually advance the digital yuan from a domestic payment tool to a key component in cross-border settlements and regional monetary infrastructure,” said researcher at HashKey Group, Tim Sun.
“This is not just about payment efficiency; it also concerns the internationalisation of the RMB and establishing additional channels outside the dollar-dominated system,” he added.