Chinese currency gaining traction in global markets

Offshore renminbi bond issuances more than doubled last year while panda bond issuances surged, highlighting the steady progress made by the Chinese currency in gaining traction in global markets, official data showed on Tuesday.

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said that the issuances of panda bonds — onshore renminbi bonds issued by overseas financial institutions and enterprises — reached almost 200 billion yuan ($27.3 billion) in 2024, a 32 percent increase from the previous year.

Meanwhile, the issuances of offshore yuan bonds saw a 150 percent year-on-year growth last year, the PBOC said on Tuesday.

"Various indicators of the international use of the yuan have steadily improved, with the ability of cross-border yuan business to serve the real economy continuously enhanced," Xuan Changneng, deputy governor of the PBOC, said at a news conference.

The yuan has emerged as the fourth most used payment currency and one of the top three trade financing currencies, Xuan said, adding that cross-border yuan payments and receipts reached about 64 trillion yuan last year, a 23 percent year-on-year increase.

The balance of offshore yuan deposits has exceeded 1 trillion yuan, while the offshore yuan loan balance approached 700 billion yuan, both at historically high levels, the PBOC said.

Over 80 overseas central banks and monetary authorities have included the yuan in their foreign exchange reserves.