The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Tuesday that it will adopt a new package of measures to further enhance cross-border use of the Chinese yuan in 2026, in efforts to promote high-standard opening-up of the country's financial market.
According to the 2026 Work Conference of the People's Bank of China held on Monday and Tuesday, the measures to be taken will include leveraging bilateral currency swap arrangements, improving Chinese yuan settlement infrastructure, and facilitating Chinese yuan use in trade and investment.
The PBOC also pledged to refine mechanisms under initiatives such as the Bond Connect and the Swap Connect (an interest rate swap market access scheme), while encouraging more qualified overseas entities to issue panda bonds (yuan-denominated debts sold by overseas issuers) in China's domestic market.
The central bank said it will also work to expand interoperability among fast payment systems and promote QR code interoperability with partner countries.
"We will continue optimizing the Cross-Border Wealth Management Connect, put into service the Guangdong-Macao Elderly Pension Connect, and expand and upgrade the relevant services and systems such as the Cross-Border Payment Connect, the Hengqin Multi-Functional free trade account system, and the bank account opening witness program. These efforts aim to broaden pilot programs for high-standard opening-up in cross-border trade and investment and further facilitate cross-border use of the Chinese yuan," said Zhang Kui, head of the PBOC's Guangdong branch, in an interview with China Central Television.
Hengqin is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city and Special Economic Zone in south China's Guangdong Province. The Chinese government unveiled a plan in September 2021 to promote the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin as a new platform to boost Macao's targeted economic diversification.
The central bank said it will implement the one-off personal credit repair policy in a prudent manner and improve payment services for elderly citizens and foreign nationals visiting China.
Steps will also be taken to strengthen oversight of virtual currencies, crack down on related illegal activities, and steadily advance development of the digital yuan, according to the central bank.
Measures to be taken to further facilitate cross-border use of yuan in 2026: China's central bank
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
