The "Golden Bridge" paves the way, and the internationalization of the RMB is steadily advancing

Economic development is inseparable from financial support, and the high-quality development of the "the Belt and Road" initiative is inseparable from strong financial support. In the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" project, more and more countries choose to use RMB in their trade with China, and RMB settlement plays an increasingly important role.
Accelerate the layout of the "the Belt and Road" banking network
As people in the "the Belt and Road" countries have more frequent access to and use of RMB, and their confidence in RMB settlement is growing, major Chinese banks have accelerated their layout in the joint construction of branches in the "the Belt and Road" countries in recent years.
At the "the Belt and Road" media briefing recently held by the head office of the Bank of China, the head office's relevant person in charge introduced that in the ten years from 2013 to 2023, the Bank of China's newly added overseas institutions covered 26 countries, 22 of which were "the Belt and Road" co built countries, becoming the most widely distributed Chinese bank in the world and jointly building the "the Belt and Road". Among them, from 2013 to 2017, Bank of China set up branches in Mongolia, Portugal, Laos, the Czech Republic, Austria, Morocco, Brunei, Tanzania, Serbia, Pakistan and Qatar in 11 countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road"; From 2018 to 2022, Bank of China will set up branches in nine countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road", namely Sri Lanka, Chile, New Zealand, Djibouti, Argentina, Romania, Greece, Peru and Myanmar; In June and September 2023, the Papua New Guinea Representative Office and the Riyadh Branch of Bank of China opened respectively. So far, Bank of China's overseas service network has covered 44 countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road".
Relevant data provided by the Bank of China shows that cross-border RMB use in the "the Belt and Road" countries is growing rapidly. From January to August 2023, BOC domestic institutions handled RMB 8.29 trillion in cross-border RMB settlement, a year-on-year increase of 22% and a market share of nearly a quarter, continuing to maintain the leading position in the industry. Among them, the cross-border RMB settlement business between domestic institutions and the "the Belt and Road" countries was RMB 919.485 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.16%. BOC overseas institutions handled cross-border RMB settlement business of 14.3 trillion yuan, up 4.45% year on year, BOC Hong Kong 12.5 trillion yuan, and other overseas institutions 1.84 trillion yuan, of which, institutions involved in the "the Belt and Road" countries handled cross-border RMB settlement business of 572.852 billion yuan, up 90.41% year on year.
Enrich the RMB product ecosystem
In the process of jointly building the "the Belt and Road", Chinese banks play the role of bridge, play their own strengths to help Chinese enterprises "go global" and help foreign enterprises "bring in". Many countries along the "the Belt and Road" can not only use RMB to settle accounts, but also use RMB to issue bonds, finance and invest. There are more and more RMB products of different types.

The panda bond market has received special attention from overseas issuers in recent years. Since the beginning of this year, the scale of the Panda Bond market has significantly increased. In the first three quarters of 2023, the issuance of panda bonds in the interbank bond market exceeded 118.2 billion yuan, which is higher than the total issuance of 82.5 billion yuan last year, fully demonstrating the enthusiasm of market participants.

The relevant person in charge of the head office of Bank of China introduced that as a major participant in the international capital market, Bank of China has actively seized market opportunities in recent years and participated in the issuance of panda bonds by various overseas institutions. Over the past nine years, Bank of China's Panda Bond underwriting has consistently ranked first in the market, serving all four types of issuers: international development institutions, sovereign institutions, non-financial enterprises, and financial institutions. Its average annual market share is over 25%, covering all recurring issuers. In the first three quarters of 2023, the sales volume of Panda Bonds reached 26.5 billion yuan, continuing to rank first in the market. Related highlight projects include the first Panda Bond in Europe (Poland), the first Panda Bond in the Middle East (Sharjah Emirate of the United Arab Emirates), the first Panda Bond in the Eurozone (Portugal), and the first Green Sovereign Panda Bond (Hungary).
Except for Panda Bonds, as of the end of the first half of 2023, Bank of China has assisted sovereign institutions in countries and regions such as Saudi Arabia and the Philippines in issuing bonds totaling $47.902 billion, as well as issuers from countries such as Russia, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, and Hungary in issuing credit bonds totaling $48.584 billion. Highlights include Hungary's 1 billion yuan bond (Poland) and the Philippines' 1.5 billion yuan bond.
The person in charge said that Bank of China will rely on overseas distribution centers and overseas branches, give full play to its globalization advantages, further promote the two-way opening of the financial market, and continue to build bridges for various institutions in the "the Belt and Road" countries and regions to finance in domestic and foreign capital markets.
Enhancing the discourse power of China's banking industry
The internationalization of the RMB is not only as a reserve currency and trade settlement for other countries, but also fundamentally depends on the confidence of the people of other countries in using the RMB. In serving the "the Belt and Road" construction, Chinese banks continue to promote the internationalization of RMB, enrich the RMB product ecosystem, and achieve positive results, which will help enhance the influence and voice of China's banking industry in the global financial field.
The head office of the Bank of China introduced that the Bank of China has continuously played the investment and reserve functions of RMB in its ten-year service of the "the Belt and Road" construction. To meet market needs, Bank of China continuously enriches its products for overseas investors, providing customers with comprehensive services such as bond investment, exchange, hedging, and custody. In 2022, the Bank of China Nairobi Representative Office facilitated the Bank of Kenya to purchase RMB denominated bonds and include RMB assets in the country's foreign exchange reserves.
At the same time, Bank of China is leveraging global institutions to expand the RMB's "circle of friends". Bank of China has branches in 64 countries and regions overseas, with over 80% of them operating RMB businesses. In recent years, Bank of China has focused on expanding its RMB services to more new markets. After Argentina announced its support for the use of RMB, the Buenos Aires branch collaborated with Bank of China Hong Kong to handle cross-border RMB settlement for a Chinese enterprise, becoming one of the first batch of RMB businesses to be launched locally; The Karachi branch processed the first crude oil trade settled in RMB between Pakistan and a certain country, and the Brazilian subsidiary successfully completed the full process closed-loop operation of RMB pricing, settlement, financing, and exchange for a local enterprise in Brazil.
In addition, Bank of China continues to assist in improving the infrastructure for global RMB circulation. At present, 13 overseas institutions of Bank of China have been designated as overseas RMB clearing banks by the People's Bank of China, playing a role in serving overseas entities and cultivating the offshore RMB market. Bank of China fully supports the construction and promotion of the RMB Cross border Payment System (CIPS). 27 institutions, including the head office, have become direct participants in the CIPS system, attracting 629 interbank banks to access CIPS through Bank of China. Through convenient and efficient clearing services, it helps the smooth circulation of the RMB globally.