On July 24, 2025, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China held a press conference for the third quarter of 2025, focusing on the themes of financial openness and reform innovation. The conference provided detailed updates on Shanghai's progress in promoting comprehensive reforms in offshore trade financial services and upgrading the functions of free trade accounts. During the conference, Shi Jiandong, Deputy Director of the Macro-Prudential Management Department of the Shanghai headquarters, emphasized the application potential of the digital renminbi in offshore trade settlement in response to a question from The Paper, marking an important step forward in the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center empowered by digitalization.

Positive Results from Comprehensive Reform Pilot of Offshore Trade Financial Services

At the opening ceremony of this year's Lujiazui Forum, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, announced the implementation of eight financial openness policy measures in Shanghai, including the launch of a comprehensive reform pilot for offshore trade financial services in the Lingang New Area. Shi Jiandong explained that this pilot relies on offshore trade specialized companies as a vehicle, utilizing the "electronic fence" function of free trade accounts, and through an innovative mechanism of effective control on the "second line" and complete liberalization on the "first line," significantly improving the efficiency of cross-border settlement in offshore trade.

As of July 18, the pilot has achieved remarkable results. The offshore trade specialized companies participating in the pilot have completed 22 offshore trade transactions, with a total cross-border income and expenditure of 648 million yuan. To ensure the smooth progress of the pilot, on June 19, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China and the Lingang New Area Management Committee jointly issued a notice and guidelines on the comprehensive reform pilot for offshore trade financial services in the Lingang New Area, and developed a special monitoring module based on the Renminbi Cross-Border Payment Information Management System (RCPMIS) - Free Trade Account Subsystem to effectively prevent financial risks. This pilot has received widespread response from market participants, indicating a good start for policy implementation.

Upgrading Free Trade Account Functions to Support Financial Reform and Innovation

At the same time, optimizing and upgrading the functions of free trade accounts is another important measure for financial openness in Shanghai. Shi Jiandong stated that the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China, under the guidance of the head office, is actively promoting the implementation of the free trade account function upgrade plan, establishing a funding management framework with "higher entry thresholds, limited penetration that is prudently adjustable on the second line, and free receipt and payment on the first line," to undertake more financial reform and innovation tasks.

On June 19, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China issued a notice soliciting public opinions on the "Implementation Measures for Upgrading the Functions of Free Trade Accounts in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (Draft for Comments)" and provided explanations for the document drafting, widely seeking feedback from society. At the same time, the Shanghai headquarters is accelerating the selection of pilot banks and enterprises, data collection for the RCPMIS - Free Trade Account Subsystem, and the development of special monitoring modules, providing technical support for policy implementation.

Exploring the Application of Digital Renminbi in Offshore Trade Settlement

Against the backdrop of deepening financial openness, the application of digital renminbi has become one of the highlights of this reform pilot. Shi Jiandong clearly stated that the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China will actively explore the application potential of digital renminbi in offshore trade settlement. Building on the successful experience of previous cross-border payment pilots with digital renminbi, the Shanghai headquarters plans to further promote the application of digital renminbi in offshore trade scenarios, helping enterprises reduce settlement costs and improve capital utilization efficiency.

Relevant information shows that significant progress has been made in the field of cross-border payments with digital renminbi. For example, in 2023, Shanghai launched a cross-border payment pilot with Hong Kong using a bilateral model, and in December 2024, it established a bilateral model with Singapore. By the end of May 2025, nearly 8 billion yuan in cross-border payment transactions using digital renminbi had been completed through the currency bridge, covering scenarios such as goods trade, service trade, and FTN account remittances. These experiences lay a foundation for the application of digital renminbi in offshore trade settlement.

Outlook for Next Steps

Shi Jiandong stated that the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China will steadily and orderly advance the aforementioned financial reform tasks. Specific measures include: first, continuing to promote the participation of eligible banks and enterprises in the comprehensive reform pilot for offshore trade financial services, expanding the coverage of policies, and actively exploring innovative applications of digital renminbi in offshore trade settlement; second, improving the "Implementation Measures for Upgrading the Functions of Free Trade Accounts in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone" based on social feedback, and formally releasing it after obtaining approval from the head office; third, continuously optimizing the functions of the RCPMIS system, strengthening data monitoring and risk prevention, ensuring the safe and efficient advancement of the reform pilot.

At the press conference for the third quarter of 2025, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China showcased Shanghai's firm steps in the fields of financial openness and digital transformation. Through the comprehensive reform pilot of offshore trade financial services and the upgrade of free trade account functions, Shanghai is accelerating the construction of an efficient, convenient, and secure cross-border financial service system. The exploration of digital renminbi in offshore trade settlement not only provides enterprises with more flexible settlement methods but also injects new vitality into the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center. In the future, with the implementation of policies and the in-depth application of digital technologies, Shanghai will play a more important role in global financial governance and the internationalization process of the renminbi.

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