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Yuan

Yuan
The Chinese yuan, also known as the renminbi, is already convertible under the current account - the broadest measure of trade in goods and services. However, the capital account, which covers portfolio investment and borrowing, is still closely managed by Beijing because of worries about abrupt capital flows.
The value of purchases in the first four months of 2026 reached HK$61.6 billion, equal to 45 per cent of last year’s HK$137.9 billion total. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong property

Mainland Chinese demand for Hong Kong homes grows on yuan gains and rising rents

Purchases climb to a two-year high in April as mainland Chinese buyers pile into new launches, drawn by rental yields and yuan’s strength.

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US-China relations

Is China set to benefit from new US Fed chair Kevin Warsh’s policy vision?

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Banking & finance

How Australia’s mining giants are helping China to globalise the yuan

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China trade

Pakistan to tap China debt market with first sale of yuan-priced ‘panda bonds’

Islamabad turns to ‘panda bonds’ to secure cheaper credit and diversify its borrowing into yuan-denominated funding, with a focus on sustainable development.

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Pakistan and China continue to forge stronger economic ties. Here, a family rides past a roadside display in the shape of their national flags in Lahore, Pakistan, ahead of a visit by Vice-Premier He Lifeng in 2023 to mark the 10th anniversary of a mega economic plan. Photo: AFP
Currencies

China sets yuan at strongest level in 3 years as US dollar jitters simmer

Beijing is pushing for a stronger yuan to help globalise the currency, but the upswing could create issues for the country’s export giants.

China-Asean relations

How China is quietly reshaping Southeast Asia’s payments beyond the US dollar

New initiative lets consumers use home-grown apps like Alipay for cross-border payments – supporting Beijing’s push to expand regional financial links.

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China's economic recovery

Open Questions | How China can avoid a repeat of Japan’s ‘lost decades’

Bai Chongen, an economist and adviser to China’s government, explains how the country can dodge ‘Japanification’ and why its economic rise is misunderstood.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong, mainland China officials meet to bolster cross-border connect schemes

HKMA’s Eddie Yue, State Administration of Foreign Exchange’s Zhu Hexin discuss ways to strengthen city’s role as a global financial hub.

Mainland China

Open Questions | Why China’s yuan faces the same ‘illusions’ that stalled the euro: Daniel Gros

Former European economic adviser says Beijing’s bid to build an international currency will hinge on leaders allowing it to fluctuate freely.

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China economy

Opinion | For the US dollar, a subtler shift than a ‘petroyuan’ order is underfoot

Talk of a dollar collapse or ‘petroyuan’ order arriving amid the Iran war misses the mark. The larger shift is subtler and no less consequential.

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China’s President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in Beijing on April 14. Photo: cnsphoto via Reuters
China trade

‘Paradigm shift’: is China’s deal with mining giant BHP a global yuan milestone?

The agreement to partly link iron ore pricing to the yuan is a breakthrough but US dollar dominance in the trade remains entrenched for now, analysts say.

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In late 2025, reports surfaced that CMRG had instructed traders to stop buying US dollar-denominated iron ore from BHP – sparking tense negotiations that culminated in the recent agreement. Photo: Reuters
Bonds

China opens government bond futures to select foreign investors in reform push

Qualified foreign investors can trade government bond futures, enhancing market access and boosting the yuan’s appeal amid global tensions.

Stock Connect

Brazil beckoned: China now has stock and bond ‘connect’ schemes in 5 regions

Strategic financial corridors now bridge mainland bourses with global hubs, enabling more seamless investment through specialised fund vehicles and receipts.

Banking & finance

Open Questions | Euro, yuan unlikely to match US dollar, Daniel Gros says

German economist doubts EU and Chinese currencies will be widely used for international trade or that stablecoins will take off outside the ‘shadow economy’.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China trade

Canton Fair defies global trends as overseas buyers flock to buy robots, drones

Foreign buyers queue up to test the latest technological hardware at China’s largest trade show despite softening international demand.

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The 139th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, brought together 46 enterprises to showcase technological innovations and application capabilities in China’s service robot sector. Photo: Xinhua
Banking & finance

Greater China private equity set for patchy recovery, modest fundraising boost

China’s private equity market recovers selectively amid geopolitical tensions, with yuan funds leading and exits reaching record highs.

China stock market

Outlook for China stocks brightens on capital flows, rebounding home prices

Resilience shown since start of Middle East war likely to continue amid haven demand, according to fund managers and investment banks.

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Global monetary policy

Editorial | Chinese yuan slowly but surely cutting into US dollar dominance

Kazakhstan’s issuance of yuan-denominated debt shows developing nations can use ‘panda bonds’ as stepping stones into global capital markets.

An employee counts 100-yuan notes at a bank in Beijing on November 14, 2024. Photo: AFP
US-China trade war

Why the biggest threat to US dollar dominance may well be Washington itself

Economic sanctions, access to US-led banking systems are powerful tools, but overuse reduces their effectiveness over time, Congress told.

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Chinese offshore investment

China boosts overseas-loan quotas as ‘panda bond’ issuance hits record high

Beijing’s move to lift offshore-loan quotas seen helping stabilise yuan against weaker US dollar while accommodating a surge in net financing via ‘panda bonds’.

Banking & finance

Kazakh sovereign fund issues Central Asia’s first panda bond in ‘milestone’ sale

Samruk-Kazyna chairman says issuance marks ‘an important milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China’.

By the middle of last month, 78 billion yuan of panda bonds had been issued this year. Photo: Shutterstock
Currencies

Yuan’s ‘golden window’ is open, former PBOC governor says as US dollar ebbs

Zhou Xiaochuan, who laid the foundation for China’s currency to go global, says Beijing can capitalise on changes in the international monetary landscape.

People walk past Chinese yuan and US dollar symbols in Hong Kong. Former PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan says China should seize fresh opportunities to promote the yuan as an international currency. Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Conflict catalyst: China’s yuan settlements hit record amid Middle East tensions

Single-day transactions via China’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System surge past 1 trillion yuan as Beijing’s moves to expand the yuan-payment network show signs of paying off.

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Foreign exchange market

China’s yuan may be going global faster than Western data suggests, analysts say

Many yuan transactions are now routed through China’s own global payment system, which often does not show up in traditional data sets, analysts say.

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Bonds

China’s JD.com returns to dim sum bond market with 10b yuan offering

The e-commerce giant is issuing the yuan-denominated notes in two tranches of 7.5 billion yuan and 2.5 billion yuan.

S&P Global Ratings has assigned an ‘A-’ long-term rating to JD.com’s notes. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

Open Questions | Kenneth Rogoff on why China’s yuan will be a reserve currency within 5 years

Harvard economist explains why cryptocurrencies will never take the US dollar’s place, despite their popularity in underground economies.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
US, Israel war on Iran

How the Iran war could pave the way for the rise of China’s ‘petroyuan’

Disruptions from the war could accelerate a shift in the oil trade, threatening the US dollar’s long-held dominance, analysts say.

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Science

China names AI tokens after the yuan. Should US worry for the dollar?

China has officially designated ciyuan as the translation for ‘token’, giving strong economic overtones to what has been a tech term.

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