Pan Gongsheng: RMB accounts for about 6%-7% of international payments, firmly ranking third globally

October 20 - According to Caixin, People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said on October 19 at the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference that, based on SWIFT statistics, the RMB accounts for about 3%-4% of international payments, ranking fifth globally. If amounts settled through CIPS and banks' internal systems are also included, this share is roughly between 6%-7%, stably ranking third globally. Pan Gongsheng also said the RMB has become China's largest settlement currency for external receipts and payments and the world's second-largest trade finance currency. Going forward, the central bank will study implementing multi-tier custody arrangements in the opening up of the bond market, promote RMB bonds as globally eligible collateral; support the formation of an offshore RMB market structure led by Hong Kong with coordinated development in London, Singapore and Dubai; and provide stable, multi-tiered RMB liquidity supply for the offshore market.