BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China's ride-hailing giant DiDi Chuxing (Didi), announced on Wednesday that it had inked a strategic cooperation agreement with the digital currency research institute of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, to explore application of digital yuan in smart travel scenarios.
The central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be piloted on Didi's transportation platform, according to the announcement.
Digital currency system will become a critical infrastructure of the digital economy, said Didi, adding that it would cooperate with PBOC and relevant government departments to boost integrated development of digital economy and real economy.
PBOC began studies on digital currency in 2014. It started R&D on "digital currency and electronic payment" (DC/EP) at the end of 2017. In May this year, the central bank said it has no timetable for the launch of the sovereign digital yuan, but a series of partnerships has been announced since then, indicating that research and testing are progressing. (Edited by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, silviasu07@163.com)
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