China forum discusses nation’s goal for internationalising renminbi

Asian version of the World Economic Forum also discusses efforts to create a digital yuan

Chinese government officials and business leaders are gathered this week on the tropical island province of Hainan for the Boao forum, with discussions expected to encompass topics from digital currencies to carbon neutrality and the economic outlook for a post-pandemic world.

Billed as an Asian version of the World Economic Forum, the forum kicked off Sunday and is slated to run through Wednesday. On the first day of the event, a senior Chinese central bank official said the nation’s goal for internationalizing its currency is not to replace the dollar, and efforts to create a digital yuan are aimed at domestic use.

China is signalling it’s open for business with the resumption of the high-profile Boao Forum for Asia, an opportunity for the government to make a renewed effort to lure foreign investors in a post-pandemic world.

Currency

The event was cancelled last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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China’s goal for internationalising its currency is not to replace the dollar, and the efforts to create a digital yuan are aimed at domestic use, a senior central bank official said Sunday.

“For the internationalisation of the renminbi, we have said many times that it’s a natural process, and our goal is not to replace the US dollar or other international currencies,” People’s Bank of China deputy governor Li Bo said on Sunday.

CanSino Biologics is monitoring its Covid-19 vaccine more carefully after cases of blood clots forced other suppliers to suspend inoculations. “We’re just monitoring more cautiously,” CanSino Chairman Yu Xuefeng said on the sidelines of the Boao Forum.

The comments come as a vaccine from Johnson and Johnson was halted in Europe after US officials paused immunizations to investigate blood clots suffered by six women. – Bloomberg