China launches e-CNY hub to boost cross-border blockchain payments

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Mirjan Hipolito

18.06.2025

China launches e-CNY hub to boost cross-border blockchain payments — China repositions CBDC as strategic tool for global trade

China is accelerating the internationalization of its digital yuan (e-CNY), shifting the focus from domestic adoption to cross-border usage.

On June 18, during the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, announced the creation of an international operations center for the e-CNY. The center will pilot blockchain-based trade finance tools and optimize cross-border settlements.

Beijing’s commitment to the project is reflected in its designation as one of the country's eight major reforms. In his speech, Pan acknowledged that stablecoins and CBDCs are reshaping traditional payment infrastructure, positioning the digital yuan as a state-backed alternative that leverages blockchain efficiency without adopting decentralization.

The establishment of the new Shanghai-based e-CNY hub marks China’s pivot from a purely domestic pilot to an international strategic tool.

Despite four years of pilot programs in 29 cities, the digital yuan remains niche, accounting for just 0.16% of China’s total payment volume as of mid-2025—far behind private giants Alipay and WeChat Pay. Even government incentives such as free airdrops have failed to significantly shift consumer behavior.

A Strategic pivot abroad

Nonetheless, China views its CBDC as a long-term infrastructural project, not a quick win in retail payments. The Shanghai hub signals a shift from urging street vendors to accept e-CNY toward rewriting the rules of cross-border trade finance.

Pan tied the digital yuan to a broader vision of a multipolar monetary system—one where no single currency dominates global trade and finance. “A more multipolar international currency system will help sovereign currencies enhance policy constraints, increase system resilience, and more effectively support global economic and financial stability,” he said in a translated statement.

Governor Pan emphasized that this is about more than monetary policy—it’s about using new technologies to enable faster, more efficient payments. By integrating smart contracts into cross-border transactions, China aims to match the instant-settlement appeal of stablecoins while preserving centralized oversight.

This hybrid approach embraces the advantages of blockchain speed while rejecting what Pan called the “insufficient regulatory oversight” of stablecoins.

This move marks a reevaluation of China's digital currency strategy amid slowing domestic momentum and shifts in the global financial order.

As we wrote, China and U.S. suspend trade war

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