China launches digital RMB hub to rival dollar dominance
The shanghai-based operations center integrates cross-border payments, blockchain services, and digital assets as china pushes its currency onto the global stage
Builds a full-stack digital currency ecosystem: three platforms for cross-border payments, blockchain services, and digital assets, creating an integrated infrastructure designed to manage every stage of a digital transaction
Targets SWIFT's core weaknesses: People's Bank of China (PBOC) officials are explicitly positioning the new system as a solution to the high costs, low speed, and operational complexities that define the current global payments network.
Accelerates a geopolitical strategy: First announced in June 2025 by PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng, the center is a direct response to the perceived “weaponization” of the U.S. dollar and SWIFT through sanctions, aiming to create a “multipolar” financial system.
Establishes Shanghai as the global e-CNY capital: The city is set to expand digital yuan application scenarios, leveraging the new center to deepen its role as an international financial hub and the primary gateway for foreign institutions to access China’s digital currency.
The Digital Renminbi International Operation Center has officially begun operations in Shanghai, a move announced by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) just three months after its initial unveiling.
Managed by the central bank's Digital Currency Institute, the center is designed to advance the international use of the e-CNY. But behind the technical language of payment platforms and blockchain services lies a far more ambitious project: the construction of a resilient, state-controlled alternative to the dollar-dominated global financial system.
The Public Pitch: A Faster, Cheaper System for the World
The official narrative from Beijing is one of benevolent innovation.
In public statements, Chinese officials frame the initiative as a global public good. PBOC Deputy Governor Lu Lei describes the “upgrading and evolution of the currency and payment system” as a “historical inevitability”.
He argues that China is committed to providing “open, inclusive and innovative solutions to improve the global cross-border payment system”. This language is deliberate, targeting the well-documented frustrations with the existing financial architecture.
The current system, built around the SWIFT messaging network and a web of correspondent banks, is frequently criticized for its inefficiencies. Cross-border payments can be slow, expensive, and opaque.
The PBOC is positioning its new digital infrastructure as the solution. Lu Lei has promoted three guiding principles for this new system: it must be “lossless, compliant and interoperable”. This message is crafted to resonate with emerging economies and global partners seeking alternatives.
This collaborative framing is bolstered by China’s active participation in multilateral projects. The most prominent is Project mBridge, a joint effort with the Bank for International Settlements and the central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and now Saudi Arabia.
The project has already built a platform using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enable instant, peer-to-peer cross-border payments.
Having reached a "minimum viable product" stage, it now has over 26 observing members, including the European Central Bank and the New York Innovation Centre of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The Shanghai center is designed to be the operational hub that connects these international collaborations with China’s domestic system, creating a powerful new network for global commerce.
The Defensive Wall: Building a Sanctions-Proof Economy
Beneath the rhetoric of global cooperation lies a powerful defensive strategy.
For years, Beijing has watched with concern as the United States has used its control over the global financial system as a tool of foreign policy. The ability to cut nations or companies off from SWIFT or the U.S. dollar is a potent economic weapon.