China’s Central Bank Governor Announces Digital Yuan International Operations Center in Shanghai
Today (18th), Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, announced plans to establish an international operations center for the digital yuan in Shanghai to expand the global influence of the yuan. He pointed out that stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are reshaping global payment infrastructure.
During the 2025 Lujiazui Forum, Pan Gongsheng stated that the new digital yuan center aims to promote the international operation of the digital yuan and the development of financial market services, facilitating digital financial innovation. This initiative is one of eight key financial policies he announced at the forum.
The digital yuan is widely regarded as one of the most advanced CBDCs globally. Despite several support measures launched by the Chinese government since the pilot program began in 2019, the adoption of the digital yuan still faces challenges.
In his keynote speech, Pan Gongsheng highlighted that the application of emerging technologies in the field of cross-border payments is accelerating, including blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT). He stated:
As one of the eight policies proposed today, Shanghai plans to trial a series of structural monetary policy tools, including blockchain-based trade financing tools. At the same time, he warned about the insufficient regulation in the field of crypto assets:
Although Chinese authorities have traditionally embraced blockchain technology, the People’s Bank of China has rarely publicly discussed the financial implications of decentralized finance (DeFi) and stablecoins. China currently still prohibits cryptocurrency trading and mining activities within its borders.
The remarks by the Chinese central bank governor come after the U.S. Senate passed a key stablecoin regulatory bill on Tuesday, which will be further reviewed by the House of Representatives. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated that stablecoin legislation will “create a market capable of expanding the use of the U.S. dollar globally through these stablecoins,” and believes that a market size of $2 trillion for dollar-backed stablecoins is “a very reasonable figure.”
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