RMB, more and more "international style"

Since 2021, the amount of RMB cross-border receipts and payments has continued to grow on the basis of the high base of the previous year. In 2021, the total amount of RMB cross-border receipts and payments by banks on behalf of customers will reach 36.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.0%, and the amount of receipts and payments will reach a record high. RMB cross-border receipts and payments were generally balanced, with a cumulative net inflow of 404.47 billion yuan throughout the year. According to data from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the share of RMB in international payments will increase to 2.7% in December 2021, surpassing the Japanese yen to become the fourth payment currency in the world, and will further increase to 3.2% in January 2022, a record high. According to the Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) data released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the first quarter of 2022, the RMB accounted for 2.88% of the global foreign exchange reserves, which is higher than that when the RMB joined the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in 2016. ) rose 1.8 percentage points in the currency basket, ranking fifth among the major reserve currencies. In May 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised the weight of the renminbi in the special drawing rights (SDR) from 10.92% to 12.28%, reflecting the recognition of the increased degree of free use of the renminbi.

The volume of cross-border RMB settlements related to the real economy maintained rapid growth, and areas such as bulk commodities and cross-border e-commerce became new growth points, and cross-border two-way investment activities continued to be active. The RMB exchange rate has generally shown a two-way fluctuation trend, and the endogenous demand of market players to use RMB to avoid exchange rate risks has gradually increased. Fundamental systems such as RMB cross-border investment and financing, transaction settlement, etc. have been continuously improved, and the ability to serve the real economy has been continuously enhanced.

my country's financial market continues to open up, RMB assets remain highly attractive to global investors, and cross-border RMB receipts and payments under securities investment generally show a net inflow. As of the end of 2021, the total amount of financial assets such as domestic RMB stocks, bonds, loans and deposits held by foreign entities totaled 10.83 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%. The offshore RMB market has gradually recovered and transactions have become more active. By the end of 2021, RMB deposits in major offshore markets were close to 1.50 trillion yuan.

Source: the official website of the central bank