On June 9, the 2026 Forum on RMB International Use, hosted by BANK OF CHINA, was convened in Shanghai. The event featured addresses from Wu Wei, Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai; Tao Ling, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China; Theodore Pelagidis, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece; and Ge Haijiao, Chairman of BANK OF CHINA. Huang Xueling, a Vice President of the bank, presented the "BANK OF CHINA White Paper on RMB International Use (2026)" on-site.
In his remarks, Ge Haijiao stated that China's 15th Five-Year Plan outlines the goals of expanding high-level opening-up, advancing the internationalization of the Renminbi (RMB), and sharing opportunities for common development with nations worldwide. Presently, cross-border RMB clearing and settlement is accelerating, cross-border RMB investment and financing is moving into the fast lane, and innovation in cross-border RMB payments is being fast-tracked, marking an accelerated transition from quantitative growth to qualitative enhancement in the international use of the currency. As a primary channel for cross-border RMB services, BANK OF CHINA serves approximately 400,000 international settlement clients. In the first five months of this year, the bank's cross-border RMB settlement volume increased by over 20% year-on-year. It holds a leading market position in underwriting Panda bonds and offshore RMB bonds and is deeply involved in innovative projects such as "Cross-Border Payment Connect," the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge (mBridge), and cross-border QR code payments, which tangibly demonstrate the substantial demand and potential for RMB internationalization.
Ge Haijiao further expressed that BANK OF CHINA will leverage this forum as an opportunity to continuously explore innovations in RMB products and services, striving to become a trusted friend and partner for global investors looking to invest in China and use the RMB. The bank aims to foster international economic and trade cooperation through deeper integration of application scenarios, increasing support for new business models like cross-border e-commerce, facilitating RMB-denominated pricing and settlement across the entire chain in bulk commodity trade and shipping, and actively expanding payment and consumption scenarios for foreign nationals in China. It will enhance connectivity to serve the facilitation of investment and financing, strongly supporting the expansion of mechanisms such as Bond Connect, Swap Connect, and Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect, helping overseas institutions seize development opportunities in the Chinese market. The bank will integrate more cutting-edge technology into the construction of cross-border payment systems, continuously promote interconnectivity projects for cross-border RMB infrastructure, and fully support the development of Shanghai's international digital RMB operations center. Through closer international cooperation, it will work to build a robust ecosystem for RMB business, deepening collaboration with foreign central banks, financial institutions, enterprises, and international organizations, consistently providing stable RMB liquidity to the market, and promoting the use of RMB between countries. BANK OF CHINA is willing to join hands with partners at home and abroad to jointly propel the international use of the RMB to a higher level, inject stronger momentum into the development of Shanghai as an international financial center, and contribute greater strength to global economic and financial cooperation.
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