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
Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin, who wrapped up his five-day official visit to China, has praised China's progress in areas such as digital economy and green energy, saying Ireland is willing to deepen economic and trade cooperation with China in emerging sectors while enhancing cooperation on multilateral affairs.
It is Martin's first visit to China since taking office and the first by an Irish prime minister in 14 years.
Speaking during a joint interview with Chinese media outlets in Beijing, Martin spoke positively of the steady development of bilateral relations in recent years, highlighting closer people-to-people exchanges and growing ties in higher education.
"We now have a direct flight between Dublin and China and that's very important in terms of people to people. Our education links are very strong and we have many partnerships between Irish higher education institutions and Chinese higher education institutions and that's important," he said.
Martin said economic and trade ties remain a key pillar underpinning the sound development of bilateral relations.
He recalled that bilateral trade has seen exponential growth since his first visit to China 20 years ago, when he served as minister for enterprise, trade and employment.
Looking ahead, he expressed expectations for expanded cooperation with China in such emerging fields as digital economy and green transition.
"We will be embarking on a major investment in offshore renewables over the next decade. We already are in the planning process. It's a windy island, so we have a lot of wind to harness for energy. So we do see opportunities in AI as well. Ireland is a very strong location for investment, as a member of the European Union, the only English-speaking country now in the Eurozone and in the European Union. And it's a good access point to the European consumer market. We believe there's a greater opportunity for Chinese companies to locate in Ireland," he said.
As Ireland is set to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) in the second half of 2026, Martin said Ireland adopts a pragmatic policy towards China within the EU and stays committed to promoting a EU-China relationship framework that effectively manages differences while expanding mutually beneficial cooperation.
"What is important is that we continue to dialogue and see can we develop frameworks of agreement on the big picture. The WTO is also very important forum for resolving trade issues. Both Europe and China would acknowledge that industrial resilience, economic security issues are important issues, but that has to be balanced with an open free trade environment. So we are against tariffs. We think tariffs are ultimately damaging to the world economy," he said.
At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Martin paid an official visit to China from Jan 4 to 8. In addition to Beijing, he also visited Shanghai.
Irish Taoiseach sees broader cooperation with China in emerging sectors
