China has moved a step further in its campaign to expand the role of its central bank digital currency by opening a new operations centre for the digital yuan in Shanghai.
The facility, run by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), will oversee platforms designed for cross-border payments, blockchain-based services, and digital asset infrastructure.
The launch follows plans laid out earlier this year by PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng, who in June unveiled eight measures to support the yuan’s internationalisation.
Among them was the creation of the Shanghai hub, which he described as part of a “multipolar” financial vision where no single currency dominates the global system.
At the event, the PBOC introduced three new systems: a cross-border payments platform, a blockchain service platform, and a digital asset platform.
According to state media, the move is intended to weave the digital yuan into global finance and offer alternatives to existing dollar-based channels.
Beijing has long aimed to reduce its dependence on the US dollar while promoting its own currency abroad.
Tian Xuan, president of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University, called the Shanghai centre “an important step” that could help China provide a “Chinese solution” for modernising cross-border settlement networks.
The initiative aligns with long-running ambitions to use digital technology as leverage in international trade.
While the yuan already plays a role in regional commerce, China’s leaders see digital infrastructure as a way to speed up adoption and bring more countries into its financial orbit.
Retail payment with digital yuan
The digital yuan push comes alongside a renewed focus on stablecoins.
In August 2025, Reuters reported that Chinese authorities were considering authorising yuan-backed stablecoins to broaden global usage of the currency.
This followed a high-level meeting in Shanghai by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which included stablecoins on its agenda.
The debate has spilled into state media too.
Securities Times wrote on 23 June that stablecoin development should be pursued “sooner rather than later.”
The message marked a clear shift from China’s 2021 blanket ban on crypto trading and mining, hinting at a more pragmatic approach that distinguishes between decentralised tokens and state-backed digital assets.
Even as Beijing debates its next move, private firms are already launching yuan-linked products.
AnchorX, a Hong Kong-based fintech, last week introduced the first stablecoin tied to the offshore version of the yuan (CNH).
The token is aimed at facilitating cross-border payments in foreign exchange markets, particularly along the Belt and Road corridors connecting Asia to Europe and the Middle East.
These early ventures highlight how the digital yuan and yuan-backed stablecoins could complement each other: the state-driven CBDC backed by the PBOC for official channels, and stablecoins providing additional liquidity in international markets.
Mascot of China’s digital yuan
Coinlive believes China’s dual-track approach, pushing a centralised digital yuan while flirting with yuan-backed stablecoins, is a daring experiment that could reshape regional trade.
Yet the project also carries serious hurdles: trust in China’s financial governance, concerns over capital controls, and doubts about whether partners will embrace yuan-denominated systems over dollar-based networks.
The Shanghai hub is a symbol of ambition, but whether it becomes a turning point or simply another controlled experiment depends on how far global markets are willing to accept Beijing’s vision of a “multipolar” order.
Shanghai is a major global financial hub, hosting the Shanghai Stock Exchange and serving as a key center for China’s development of digital finance and RMB cross-border payment systems.
The stakes are high: if it succeeds, China could chip away at dollar dominance in critical trade corridors; if it falters, the digital yuan risks remaining a powerful tool confined largely to domestic use.
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