China Eyes RMB-Backed Stablecoins to Crack $250T Cross-Border Payment Market

Key Takeaways:

• Former Deputy Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao proposed integrating RMB-backed stablecoins into China’s national financial framework.
• He described dollar-backed stablecoins as a continuation of U.S. monetary dominance via digital channels.
• The proposal implies a gradual path to currency internationalization without loosening China’s capital controls.

At a closed-door seminar hosted by the New Economists Think Tank, former Deputy Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao proposed incorporating yuan-backed stablecoins into China’s top-level financial strategy, citing shifts in U.S. policy and emerging global stablecoin infrastructure.

According to New Economists, Zhu focused exclusively on fiat-backed stablecoins, excluding other digital assets, and examined their growing role in international finance.

He described dollar-pegged stablecoins as an extension of U.S. monetary strategy, stating they may represent “the third phase of the Bretton Woods system.”

The original Bretton Woods structure, introduced in 1944, tied global currencies to the U.S. dollar, itself pegged to gold. After the gold-dollar link was severed in 1971, the U.S. maintained dominance through dollar-priced oil trade.

Without regulatory support for yuan-backed stablecoins, China risks falling behind in digital finance infrastructure.#china #stablecoinhttps://t.co/5XxK6NlwSv

Today, Zhu argued, dollar-backed stablecoins serve as a new mechanism to sustain that position.

Based on the data presented, stablecoin transaction volumes reached $27.6 trillion in 2024, exceeding those of Visa and Mastercard, while cross-border payments surpassed $250 trillion.

The U.S. dollar remained the top settlement currency, accounting for nearly half of all SWIFT transactions in May.

Zhu said recent U.S. regulatory actions, including the June passage of the Lummis–Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, indicate an effort to consolidate dollar-based stablecoins within a U.S.-regulated framework.

The law requires all such stablecoins to be fully backed by liquid U.S. assets and issued by licensed entities, reinforcing dollar liquidity and extending extraterritorial influence.

He also cited the U.S. Treasury’s gold revaluation discussions and the Fed’s easing of capital reserve rules for banks as signs of coordinated fiscal recalibration, potentially to accommodate stablecoin growth.

Zhu proposed three policy directions for China: treat Hong Kong as a regulatory sandbox under the new stablecoin ordinance; develop offshore and domestic CNY stablecoins; and monitor how U.S. regulators enforce fiat-backed stablecoin rules, including constraints on foreign issuers.

He concluded by stating that “this must become part of our national financial strategy,” referencing stablecoin development under Chinese monetary frameworks.

Integrating yuan-backed stablecoins into global payments could diversify settlement channels beyond SWIFT and CHIPS, especially in regions where China has built trade or infrastructure ties.

If designed to interoperate with foreign platforms while complying with international audit and reserve standards, Chinese stablecoins could serve as a tool for incremental currency internationalization without the capital account liberalization associated with full convertibility.

Regulatory responses may vary. Countries aligned with U.S. policy could resist infrastructure relying on CNY settlement, while others may view it as a means to reduce dollar exposure or diversify reserves. Some may raise concerns about financial surveillance or political dependencies.

A yuan-backed stablecoin could theoretically support project financing, payment clearing, and supply chain settlements across Belt and Road corridors. This would require coordinated regulatory agreements and technical interoperability with partner nations’ financial systems.

Some central banks may issue standards or licenses to oversee fiat-backed stablecoin operators, while others may collaborate through multilateral mechanisms to enforce reserve rules, interoperability, or cross-border settlement conditions.

The post China Eyes RMB-Backed Stablecoins to Crack $250T Cross-Border Payment Market appeared first on Cryptonews.