As the seventh largest payment currency in the world, the use of RMB overseas is becoming more and more active and its scope is becoming wider and wider.
The cross-border RMB trade settlement volume in the first three quarters of this year reached 4.8 trillion, and is expected to be 6.4 trillion for the whole year, accounting for 25% of China's total cross-border trade volume.
According to People's Daily Online, the foreign currencies that will be directly traded with the RMB this year include the Korean won, the euro, the British pound, the Singapore dollar and the New Zealand dollar. In addition to the previous Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Russian ruble and Malaysian ringgit, there are nine foreign currencies.
The U.S. dollar currency can be traded directly with the yuan.
The latest report from the Bank of China shows that compared with 2013, domestic and foreign companies have stronger expectations for the internationalization of the RMB.
Recently, offshore RMB clearing centers have been established around the world, which facilitates companies from various countries to use RMB for cross-border transactions.
In November, ICBC established North America's first RMB offshore center in Toronto, and Bank of Communications' RMB clearing bank in Seoul also officially opened.
Li Shanquan, managing director of Oppenheimer Fund Company in the United States, said in an interview at the New York Financial Forum of Renmin University Alumni, "For a currency to be internationalized, the most important thing is that it needs to be freely convertible." From spot to futures
, from ordinary people to investment institutions, from contracts to multiple currencies, it is necessary to gradually cultivate a market for free convertibility of the RMB at all levels, so that the RMB can become an internationally recognized currency symbol, and only then can the activity of this currency market be gradually increased.
Li Shanquan said that at present, information such as the price of RMB exchange has not yet been made public and is not transparent. The main reason is that the conditions for the free convertibility of the RMB are not yet mature: First, China’s financial management institutions have to deal with the risks brought by the free convertibility of the RMB.
Measures and experience are not enough.
China's regulatory agencies have rich experience in a relatively closed financial system, but they are still relatively unfamiliar with a fully open financial market.
When there is a sharp rise or fall in the currency market, how management agencies should intervene is still being explored and learned.
Second, it will take more time to cultivate currency-related financial products and trading platforms.
First of all, a foreign exchange trading center needs to be established, which can allow people, investors, etc. to enter and conduct transactions between banks and enterprises.
It can be settled over the counter or traded in futures, and an open mechanism and a free exchange platform will be gradually established.
Third, the cultivation of the market ultimately lies in the training of people.
The maturity of the market depends on the maturity of market participants.
Market participants mainly include institutional and individual investors, as well as personnel from regulatory authorities.
Nowadays, the government's influence on the market is far more than a simple official document.
The government can intervene in the market by directly affecting transactions, or it can exert influence through policy guidance. This decision-making also requires sufficient experience and level of regulatory personnel.
At present, how to enhance the pricing ability of RMB is still the focus in the process of RMB internationalization.
Only by letting the whole world know that the RMB is a price symbol can it become a reserve and settlement currency and truly realize the concept of the so-called international currency.