RMB Internationalization Accelerates as Cross-Border Payments Surge 21.4% in First Half
Crhk · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
The People's Bank of China published the RMB Internationalization Report 2026 on Friday, documenting a significant acceleration in RMB internationalization. Cross-border receipts and payments grew 21.4% year-on-year in the first half of 2026 to reach 42.4 trillion yuan, compared to 10.1% growth for the full year 2025 . The RMB has emerged as China's top settlement currency for external payments and ranks second globally in trade financing, third in payment systems, and fifth in foreign exchange trading .
Key Points
- Last year, bank-agent RMB cross-border payments totaled 70.6 trillion yuan, up 10.1% year-on-year; the first half of this year saw 42.4 trillion yuan, accelerating to 21.4% growth
- Goods trade settlement reached 13.7 trillion yuan in 2025, representing 28.7% of total cross-border payments; this ratio rose to 29.1% in the first half of 2026 with 7.7 trillion yuan, up 20.4% year-on-year
- Panda bond issuance surged approximately 70% year-on-year to 160.03 billion yuan in the first half; overseas entities held 11.3 trillion yuan in mainland RMB financial assets as of June, up 9.2% year-on-year
- Hong Kong RMB deposits reached 1.0352 trillion yuan by Q1 2026, accounting for 5.3% of total deposits and 9.1% of foreign currency deposits
- Hong Kong retained its position as the primary offshore RMB center with approximately 1.1 trillion yuan in RMB loan balance and 896.1 billion yuan in offshore RMB bond issuance in the first half, representing a 94.4% year-on-year increase
Why It Matters
The accelerating growth of RMB cross-border usage signals a structural shift in global trade and finance, with implications for Hong Kong as the dominant offshore clearing center. The PBOC's expansion of the currency swap facility with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to 500 billion yuan and the continued deepening of market connectivity mechanisms underscore Hong Kong's strategic role in facilitating RMB internationalization . For Hong Kong readers, this trend reinforces the city's financial hub status and creates new opportunities in cross-border financial services and asset management.
The accelerating growth of RMB cross-border usage signals a structural shift in global trade and finance, with implications for Hong Kong as the dominant offshore clearing center. The PBOC's expansion of the currency swap facility with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to 500 billion yuan and the continued deepening of market connectivity mechanisms underscore Hong Kong's strategic role in facilitating RMB internationalization . For Hong Kong readers, this trend reinforces the city's financial hub status and creates new opportunities in cross-border financial services and asset management.