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China expands cross-border use of RMB
By Wang Junling, People’s Daily
The Ministry of Commerce and the People’s Bank of China recently jointly released a notice on further supporting foreign economic and trade enterprises in expanding the cross-border use of RMB to facilitate trade and investment.
The notice made deployment in supporting RMB settlement for trading in bulk commodities, supporting foreign investors to invest and reinvest in China with RMB, and expanding the use of RMB in overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, so as to nurture a sound environment for the cross-border use of RMB.
Market participants generally believe that RMB cross-border investment and financing, as well as settlement, are becoming more stable and convenient as China gains an increasingly closer economic relationship with the world.
To further improve the fundamental institutional system for the cross-border use of RMB helps promote a virtuous circulation of the currency in both onshore and offshore markets, and will enable Chinese and foreign market entities to launch more efficient cooperation for win-win outcomes.
Today’s China is dubbed the “world factory” because it ranks first in the world in the production of 220 types of industrial products. It is also a “world market” that boasts 1.4 billion people and the world’s largest middle-income group. Besides, the country remains the biggest or most important trading partner for more than 120 countries and regions.
For many economies, RMB settlement will not only save conversion costs of foreign exchange but
A message released by the Argentine Embassy in China on Jan. 9 excited Wang Shicheng, general manager of a foreign trade company in Shanghai. According to the message, Argentina’s central bank announced to expand a currency swap deal with China, which included a special activation of 35 billion yuan to compensate operations on the foreign exchange market.
It is learned that Wang and his Argentine partners used to settle in U.S. dollars. However, the high and frequent fluctuations in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the Chinese yuan and the Argentine peso in recent years have put huge pressure on him and his partners.
Therefore, the Chinese businessman and his Argentine partners have always hoped to settle with RMB for their cross-border trade.
“At the fifth China International Import Expo held last November, we agreed to import 20 containers of wine from Argentine and French wineries. The further expansion of the use of RMB is definitely good news to us,” Wang told People’s Daily.
According to the latest statistics released by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), RMB receipts and payments accounted for nearly 50 percent of the country’s cross-border receipts and payments in 2022, up more than 20 percentage points from 2016.
Due to high inflation and tight monetary policy in major economies, the U.S. dollar index vaulted to a 20-year high last year while major currencies, including the euro, yen, and British pound plunged to new lows in the past 20 to 30 years, said SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying.
The increasing ratio of the use of RMB in cross-border settlement will help reduce currency mismatch risks in cross-border trade, Wang added.
Accroding to Liu Cheng, an associate professor at China’s Nankai University, cross-border RMB settlements related to real economy have kept growing rapidly in recent years, with bulk commodities and cross-border e-commerce sectors emerging as new areas of growth. Two-way cross-border investment activities were dynamic, Liu added.
As the exchange rate of the RMB maintains general stability and bi-directional volatility, the internal demand of market entities for using RMB to avoid exchange rate risks is gradually growing, Liu told People’s Daily.
“The notice will help improve the quality of the supply of financial services in the cross-border use of RMB, better meet the demand of market entities under multiple scenarios such as foreign trade, foreign investment, and contracting overseas engineering projects. It will make the ‘cross-border stage’ of RMB much bigger,” Liu said.
Today, RMB cross-border settlement has become a choice for more and more enterprises. Tang Hongxia with the international site of Alibaba.com, a Chinese online B2B marketplace, said the new measures raised by the notice will further improve the willingness of overseas clients to settle in RMB.
“As a matter of fact, compared with the share of RMB in international payment under the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications and the weighing of the currency in the International Monetary Fund’s currency basket, known as Special Drawing Rights, the proportion of RMB in the global exchange market is still low. It means enterprises still enjoy a huge potential in the cross-border use of RMB,” Liu said.
News
PANDEF Clarifies Visit To Tinubu, Knocks Wike Over Inflammatory Comments

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has called on President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike to retract his publicly disparaging remarks made recently against the socio-political body.
PANDEF described as regrerrable and embarrassing comments by Wike in the aftermath of the group’s visit to Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, even to the extent of insulting the late former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin.
Recall that the FCT minister had, on Thursday, during a media chat, described PANDEF as “the worst organisation anybody can rely on”, while also calling the board of trustee members of the body “political merchants”.
In a statement signed by PANDEF Chairman on Saturday in Abuja, Ambassador Godknows Boladei Igali, urged President Tinubu as the father of the nation, to prevail upon the Honourable Minister to retract his inflammatory statements and extend due respect to these eminent.
Igali clarified that the meeting with the president provided a valuable platform to discuss pressing issues of national and regional importance. Adding that “PANDEF remains unwavering in its commitment to peace, stability, and equitable development in the Niger Delta. We will continue to engage with great vigour, all relevant stakeholders in pursuit of lasting harmony in Rivers State and the broader South-South region.”
His words: ^To set the record straight, PANDEF the foremost socio-political body representing the South-South regions, composed of some of Nigeria’s most distinguished personalities. The delegation to Mr. President included chairpersons of at least four of the six SouthSouth states’ traditional councils, senior traditional rulers of major ethnic groups, former governors, past presiding officers of the Senate, prominent entrepreneurs, academics, and high-ranking retired military officers.
“It is, therefore, highly regrettable and totally unacceptable that a serving minister in the Federal Government would exhibit such brazen disrespect towards individuals of this standing. This attitude perhaps explains his continued refusal of the Minister to engage with the Peace and Reconciliation Committee, which PANDEF constituted as far back as October 2024, despite repeated attempts to reach.
“The Honourable Minister (Wike) characterized PANDEF as the worst organization ever” and accused its members of visiting the Presidential Villa merely to solicit financial favors. These statements are not only false but also unbecoming of a public official of his stature.
“PANDEF hereby calls upon Mr. President, as the father of the nation, to prevail upon the Honourable Minister to retract his inflammatory statements and extend due respect to these eminent Nigerians and traditional rulers who were, after all, esteemed guests of the Commander-in-Chief. It is apt to remind that the Minister does not own the Niger-Delta and his errant conduct should not be condoned.
“Notwithstanding this regrettable development, PANDEF remains unwavering in its commitment to peace, stability, and equitable development in the Niger Delta. We will continue to engage with great vigour, all relevant stakeholders in pursuit of lasting harmony in Rivers State and the broader South-South region,” Igali stated.
On efforts to restore peace in River State, Igali restated PANDEF’s commitment for peace in the oil-rich State.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Peace and Reconciliation Committee, which remains committed to resolving the Rivers State crisis,” Igali stated.
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