China Moves Ahead on Digital Yuan Before 2022 Winter Olympics Elizabeth Chen With the People’s Republic of China (PRC) a frontrunner in the global race towards digital currency, the central bank People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has taken several steps this year to explore the international use of a digital yuan. Although there is no official timetable for the launch of China’s sovereign digital currency, economic planners are reportedly aiming to implement the digital yuan ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing—one year from now. Ahead of the Lunar New Year (February 12) this year, pilot programs trialing the nation’s digital currency (e-CNY), formally known as the Digital Currency / Electronic Payment system (DC/EP, 数字货币/电子支付体系, shuzi huobi/dianzi zhicun tixi), were rolled out in top cities such as Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Beijing. Shanghai and Guangdong have also announced plans to pilot the e-CNY (SCMP, February 8)A joint venture between the PBOC’s Digital Currency Research Institute (3 percent ownership) (DCRI, 中国人民银行数字货币研究所, zhongguo renmin yinhang shuzi huobi yanjiusuo), the PBOC China National Clearing Center (34 percent ownership), the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) (55 percent ownership), and several other Chinese entities was established on January 16 (money.163.com, February 6).

 

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Dear ThinkINchina friends, we are glad to announce our next online talk: China in the Middle East: Sino-Israeli Relations Date:     Wednesday, February 10th, 2021 Time:    16.00 Beijing time; 09.00 CET Venue:  Online, you'll receive the link for Zoom after registering SHE Gangzheng 佘纲正, Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Tsinghua University Brandon FRIEDMAN, Director of Research, the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University Chinese investments in Israel have grown significantly in recent years, especially in the fields of software, IT services, and electronics. According to 2018 data from the World Bank, Israel imports the majority of goods from China ($10.4 billion), with the U.S. a close second ($10.2 billion). Moreover, China is the second biggest destination for Israeli exports ($4.8 billion), with the U.S. leading by a large margin ($16.8 billion). Israel is not only an important economic and trade partner of China in the Middle East, but also a key element of China’s current strategy to promote the Belt and Road Initiative. China’s strategic interest is based on the fact that Israel is one of the world’s foremost commercial, food and security powerhouses and it enjoys significant grassroots support in the U.S. This relation has attracted increasing scrutiny and pressure from Washington, eager to limit Israeli engagement with China in its strategic sectors, as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, and infrastructures, especially because an FDI screening mechanism just began to be implemented by Israel but has not satisfied the American ally so far. Within China’s strategy in the wider Mediterranean region, what are the challenges and opportunities lying ahead when discussing about Sino-Israeli relations? And will the new Biden-led U.S. administration change the course of its relations? Join us for a new ThinkINchina online talk, where professor She Gangzheng from Tsinghua University and professor Brandon Friedman from Tel Aviv University, guided by professor Andrea Ghiselli from Fudan University, will help us understand what 2021 will look like in Sino-Israeli political and economic relations. On our website, you'll find the reports of all our past events, and since right now we cannot organize live events in Beijing, the online talks we started to organize in December will be recorded and uploaded on our YouTube channel, don't miss our event#77 on Sino-European Relations of December 3rd! Register on Evenbrite

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