Original title: Video｜Has the payment usage rate surpassed the “internationalization” of the Japanese yen and RMB for the first time?
According to a report released by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) on the 19th, the share of RMB international payments in December 2021 rose from 2.14% in November to 2.70%. In that month, the share of RMB in international payments rose to fourth. It surpassed the yen, the highest level in six years.
Tan Yaling, an independent economist at the China Foreign Exchange Investment Research Institute, said that this ranking first shows that the degree of my country’s economic opening and the pace of financial reform have been recognized by the world. Secondly, after the epidemic, my country’s economy has seen a steady growth trend, especially in the part of foreign trade, which has activated the global industrial chain. Furthermore, my country’s bond yields and the more stable development of the securities market compared with developed countries have also increased the attractiveness of the RMB in the global market.
On the other hand, the Japanese yen, which was just surpassed, was closed due to the severe epidemic in Japan, which brought a lot of resistance to the activity of the yen. In addition, the Japanese financial market has been in a downward cycle in the past few years, which is exactly the opposite of the upward cycle in which the RMB is in. This report came to the conclusion that “the usage rate of RMB payment exceeds that of Japanese yen”.
Some media believe that the RMB is becoming one of the most popular cross-border payment currencies in the world by the end of 2021. After entering 2022, the renminbi will continue to strengthen. On January 21, the central parity rate of the renminbi against the US dollar was 6.3492 yuan, down 7 basis points from 6.3485 yuan on the previous trading day (January 20).
Facing the “popularity” of the RMB, Tan Yaling reminded: “We should look at it with a peaceful mind.” She believes that, first of all, this data will be affected by the economic situation, market fluctuations, international politics and other factors in the future. Secondly, compared with the 30%-40% international payment share of the US dollar and the euro, there is still huge room for improvement in the level of payment and use of RMB; the most important thing is that at present, the RMB is not a freely convertible currency, only Balance of Payments Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Qualification. Therefore, the increase in the use of RMB in international payments does not mean that the internationalization of RMB is coming.
However, Tan Yaling believes that in the future, the RMB will become freely convertible and become a truly international currency, which may be a blessing for the Chinese economy and even the world economy, and it is worth looking forward to.
(Look at news Knews reporter Huang Tao)