The 2026 Government Work Report emphasized the need to further expand high-level opening up. It called for increased credit and credit insurance support, as well as expanding the cross-border use of the Renminbi (RMB). Financial support is indispensable in this process. As a leading Chinese bank with extensive global and comprehensive operations, Bank of China consistently prioritizes national objectives, championing the internationalization of the RMB as a primary mission in building a financially strong nation. Leveraging its worldwide network, industry-leading service capabilities, and exceptional product innovation, the bank is accelerating the RMB's transition from a "Chinese currency" to a "global currency."
On March 30, 2026, President Zhang Hui stated at the bank's 2025 annual results presentation that Bank of China is vigorously supporting the international use of the RMB. The bank's London and Colombo branches were successively designated as RMB clearing banks, bringing the total number of its clearing banks to 18. Cross-border RMB corporate loans continued to grow, while businesses such as cross-border RMB clearing and settlement, Panda bonds, and offshore RMB bonds maintained market leadership. The bank facilitated over 3.5 trillion yuan in various multilateral central bank digital currency bridge transactions, serving as a primary participating bank for three consecutive years to enable efficient cross-border capital flows.
**Building a Global Network: Strengthening the RMB's Financial Circulation**
In recent years, the RMB has become China's largest settlement currency and the world's second-largest trade finance currency, with its international use steadily advancing. "The RMB's value is stable and its creditworthiness is reliable, leading more countries and market participants to choose and use it," said Vice President Yang Jun at the 2025 results presentation. On a full-calculation basis, the RMB is the world's third-largest payment currency. Central banks and monetary authorities in over 80 countries and regions have now selected the RMB as a reserve currency, making it a secure and reliable new choice.
As the primary bank for cross-border RMB services, Bank of China has focused on strengthening and expanding the infrastructure for cross-border RMB. Early in 2026, this network saw new additions: in February, the People's Bank of China authorized Bank of China's London branch to act as the UK RMB clearing bank, and in March, its Colombo branch was authorized as the Sri Lankan RMB clearing bank.
Furthermore, Bank of China helped expand the "circle of friends" for CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System). The bank assisted a Guinean subsidiary of a West African commercial bank in officially connecting to CIPS, achieving the system's first country coverage in Guinea. Additionally, Bank of China facilitated Sweden's Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken's access to CIPS, marking the first connection by a Swedish financial institution. These breakthroughs significantly enhance the convenience of using RMB in trade settlement, cross-border remittances, and investment and financing, injecting strong momentum into deepening economic and trade exchanges between China and Guinea, and China and Sweden.
Substantial data reflects the depth and breadth of this global network: Bank of China's overseas institutions cover 64 countries and regions, with RMB services offered in 58. Eighteen of its institutions serve as RMB clearing banks, with their high-quality services receiving full market recognition. The bank has 46 direct participants in CIPS and serves over 760 indirect participants. It has opened more than 1,600 RMB clearing accounts for overseas participating banks, with cross-border RMB clearing volume growing rapidly. The bank also supports over 200 overseas institutional investors in accessing China's capital market through channels like CIBM and QFII.
**Leveraging Expertise: Supporting More Market Entities in Issuing RMB Bonds**
Enhancing the RMB's international reserve and investment functions is a key indicator of building a financially strong nation. Beyond helping to solidify cross-border RMB infrastructure, Bank of China leads in Panda bond and offshore RMB bond businesses, thanks to its outstanding professional capabilities and global service level.
In recent years, the Panda bond market has steadily expanded, with optimized systems and an increasing number of high-quality overseas issuers, making it more attractive to domestic and international investors. It plays a significant role in supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, green development, and industrial upgrading. In 2025, Bank of China assisted over 30 overseas entities in issuing Panda bonds, with underwriting scale nearing 38 billion yuan, ranking first among Panda bond underwriters for twelve consecutive years. This included assisting Hungary in issuing 5 billion yuan in Panda bonds, the largest issuance scale by a sovereign entity.
On the day of the results announcement, March 30, Bank of China, as the lead underwriter and bookrunner, successfully assisted the Republic of Slovenia in issuing 4 billion yuan in three-year Panda bonds in China's interbank market. This marked Slovenia's debut in the Panda bond market and set a record for the largest initial sovereign Panda bond issuance. This achievement represents a new breakthrough in RMB financing for sovereign institutions in Central and Eastern Europe, helps promote the expansion and quality improvement of the Panda bond market, and attracts more international issuers to participate in regular domestic financing. It further demonstrates Bank of China's absolute leading position in the Panda bond market and the high recognition from global sovereign issuers of its underwriting capabilities.
Reportedly, since 2016, as a lead underwriter, Bank of China has assisted in issuing all 17 sovereign Panda bonds for entities including the Province of British Columbia (Canada), Poland, the Emirate of Sharjah, Philippines, Portugal, Egypt, Hungary, and Slovenia.
Concurrently, Bank of China remains a steadfast leader in the offshore RMB bond market. In 2025, the bank helped over 80 issuers launch offshore RMB bonds, with an underwriting scale exceeding 110 billion yuan, ranking first among offshore bond underwriters for three consecutive years. It led the effort to assist the Ministry of Finance in issuing its first 6 billion yuan green sovereign bond and supported local governments like Guangdong, Shenzhen, and Hainan, as well as Chinese enterprises such as State Grid, Baidu, and Tencent, in issuing offshore RMB bonds.
**Deepening Application Scenarios: Building a "New Ecosystem" for RMB International Use**
The depth and breadth of the RMB's international use depend crucially on having diverse application scenarios. In recent years, Bank of China has fully leveraged its traditional strengths in cross-border business to make the RMB "usable and convenient" in more scenarios.
Amid rapid digital finance development, Bank of China actively embraces the digital currency wave, striving to create a convenient and efficient new cross-border payment experience. In January 2026, the bank successfully completed a test in Singapore for topping up digital RMB wallets from overseas, allowing Singapore residents to easily register for digital RMB wallets and achieve "seamless payment" for consumption in China, promoting the continuous expansion of cross-border digital RMB application scenarios.
Additionally, Bank of China actively promotes the scenarios and advantages of RMB internationalization to the market and clients. Utilizing its global network, the bank has repeatedly hosted RMB internationalization forums in locations like Shanghai and Hong Kong. In 2025, it conducted 19 high-level RMB roadshows overseas, covering major regions including Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, serving the development of offshore RMB markets in Hong Kong, London, Singapore, and Frankfurt. For thirteen consecutive years, it has published the "RMB Internationalization White Paper" along with the Cross-border RMB Index and Offshore RMB Index, striving to be the bank of choice for RMB internationalization.
Data provides the most compelling evidence. In 2025, Bank of China's domestic branches handled approximately 180 trillion yuan in cross-border RMB settlement, accounting for over 25% of the total market share. Under goods trade, cross-border RMB settlement exceeded 30%. The bank achieved over 80% coverage among leading cross-border e-commerce clients, with RMB settlement volume surpassing 1 trillion yuan, representing over 90% of their settlement. It successfully implemented cross-border QR code payment projects between China and Malaysia, China and Cambodia, and China and Indonesia, enhancing the convenience of using RMB for daily cross-border consumption. In 2025, the volume of transactions via the multi-CBDC bridge reached 3.5 trillion yuan, with the bank's market share exceeding 85%.
From deploying global clearing nodes to enabling comprehensive RMB application scenarios, and from regional pilot explorations to building a global financial ecosystem, Bank of China is painting a vivid picture of RMB internationalization through solid financial actions. Looking ahead, Bank of China will further highlight its global advantages, continuously enhance its cross-border RMB product and service capabilities, and improve foundational conditions. It aims to better serve Chinese enterprises going global and foreign enterprises entering China, acting as the main channel for cross-border business, the primary force in offshore market development, and a leader in business innovation, thereby better serving the new development paradigm and high-quality growth.
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