A top central bank official in China has urged for accelerated efforts to launch its digital sovereign currency amid similar efforts by governments elsewhere.
Deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Chen Yulu urged for accelerated efforts to build an «independent and high quality financial infrastructure», to better insulate itself from growing geopolitical tensions.
«We must serve dual circulation with fintech-led innovations,» Chen said in an article published by a PBoC magazine. «We must […] quicken the pace of research and development of the central bank digital currency, and ensure that pilot tests show [the digital currency] is controllable and safeguards the security of payments.»
This week, China launched its public trial of the digital yuan via a 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) giveaway in Shenzhen.
Sovereign Race
Governments worldwide are all expanding efforts to explore digital currency possibilities including, most recently, the Bank of Japan which said it would start testing its own electronic yen in April next year. The European Central Bank this week is also expected to kick off public consultation on a digital euro.
Despite the concurrent efforts, some major governments are not seeking direct competition. Last week, the central banks of Canada, the U.K., Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. and the European Union jointly issued a report with the Bank for International Settlements discussing potential collaboration on digital currencies to avoid unintended barriers in international transfers.
Despite its strong progress, China was notably not a participant in the report.
