Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2020 shows a sign reminding customers that digital yuan is accepted at a supermarket in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Wu Yanting)
BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- China has seen more test activities of digital currency recently, which cover larger population and more using scenarios.
-- Larger-scale pilots
China began piloting its digital currency in select regions across the country at the end of 2019. By the end of last October, China had launched pilots in 10 cities including Shanghai, Hainan, and Xiongan New Area, as well as one special area, Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic venue.
As China extends the pilot areas, people having access to digital currency are on the increase. For example, the country's southern tech hub Shenzhen took a further step in April by conducting another trial run and enlarging its test population by 500,000.
Meanwhile, more using scenarios have been created, covering catering, transportation, shopping, household bill payment and civic services.
"So far, the digital renminbi trials have been successful," said Li Bo, deputy governor of China's central bank, at Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021, adding that authorities are considering launching trials in more cities and expanding usage scenarios to enhance the eco-system of the digital yuan.
In the recent shopping festival jointly staged by Shanghai and Suzhou, cross-region payments through digital currency will be made possible, a new progress in the trials.
-- Smooth and stable
The smooth and stable payments of digital yuan have benefited both businesses and consumers.
"The digital currency has been well-received by consumers as the payment process is smooth and similar to that of other electronic payment," said a salesperson in south China's Shenzhen.
The real-time transaction also welcomed by businesses, since transactions through commercial banks usually take at least a day.
Experts suggest that the use of digital currency could significantly reduce credit risk and liquidity risk through its independent capital transfer.
-- Coexistence rather than replacement
Some people wondered at the start of pilots whether the digital currency would replace digital wallets such as Alipay and Wechat Payment. As the pilots unfold, it is confirmed that the digital currency would not change the market landscape of payment service, apart from offering consumers more choices.
According to industrial experts, with digital currency, the form of currency is changed from bank deposit to digital currency issued by the central bank, while the function of mobile wallets remained the same.
In the future, China will cooperate with global partners to work out cross-border payment solution for digital currencies.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
