China accelerates the promotion of "Digital RMB" cross-border applications! Exploring payment trials with Singapore

The People’s Bank of China (央行) and eight major departments jointly issued the “Opinions on Financial Support for Accelerating the Construction of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor,” exploring international cooperation in digital finance and sending a clear signal: a comprehensive promotion of the application of “Digital Renminbi” in cross-border scenarios. According to the document, China will involve provinces (districts, cities) along the Belt and Road in multilateral central bank digital currency bridge projects, promoting the use of central bank digital currencies in cross-border payment scenarios with Thailand, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and other regions; at the same time, it will explore advancing cross-border payment trials of “Digital Renminbi” between China and Singapore. On the other hand, to leverage the advantages of “Digital Renminbi” such as instant settlement, low cost, and programmability, China will also study the use of “Digital Renminbi” smart contracts to create innovative solutions, exploring the feasibility of expanding the application of “Digital Renminbi” in channel payment settlement, financing, tax rebates, and other scenarios. Additionally, China also plans to study further expanding the cross-border usage areas of “Digital Renminbi,” reducing costs and increasing efficiency for channel cross-border payments through bilateral and multilateral business models.