reuters.com
www.reuters.com

the world’s second-largest economy’s trade surplus hit a record $1.2 trillion in 2025, monthly forex inflows touched $100 billion, the largest ever, and the global usage of China’s currency, the yuan, has expanded.

When British Prime Minister Keir Starmer lands in China on Wednesday evening hoping to reinvigorate recently strained business ties, analysts and experts say Beijing is expected to further expand its global political and economic influence.

Some of the big global banks are scrambling to boost yuan liquidity in offshore hubs and put in place frameworks for faster payment settlements in yuan in trade corridors of China and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, they added.

More than half of China’s cross-border transactions are now settled in yuan, from almost none 15 years ago, while nearly half of China’s overseas bank lending is now in renminbi, according to the latest data from the PBOC and SAFE.

      • Gorgritch_Umie_Killa@aussie.zoneEnglish
        2·
        5 days ago

        Middle powers need to come to a settled policy position around a bancor-like policy. I think its unlikely a major power would take the lead instead of favouring their own currency as reserve. After half a century the idea probably needs updating. Then they need to coordinate as blocs to make it painful for China and USA to resist.

        If middle powers can peel one major away from their own more position of self regard, maybe in a moment of strategic weakness, then that could make it far more likely to be successful. So a situation not unlike what the USA did with the Russia-China partnership under Nixon.

        Without the major economies of the world all signing on, i’m not sure if a bancor could be done with middle powers and developing nations alone. Maybe theres a model between this set of nations that works without setting off recurring imbalance of payments crises? I’m not sure.

        Professor Steven Keen speaks very well on the bancor, he and Phil Dobbie get into it on their Debunking Economics Podcast.

        Sorry u/dustycups, had to follow you along here and have a sticky beak. :)