China opens Shanghai digital yuan hub for cross-border, blockchain services

China’s central bank has opened a new operations center for the digital yuan in Shanghai. The center will oversee platforms for cross-border payments, blockchain services and digital assets as part of the digital yuan’s ongoing development.

State-run Xinhua News Agency reported the news on Thursday, citing a statement from the People’s Bank of China.

According to Xinhua, the center is designed to promote the digital yuan’s role in global finance. With the launch, officials unveiled a cross-border payments platform, a blockchain service platform and a digital asset platform.

The hub is one of eight measures outlined by People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng during an event in June. According to Pan, the center aims to advance the yuan’s internationalization. 

At the time, he cast the push within a “multipolar” monetary vision in which multiple currencies support the global economy.

Tian Xuan, president of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University, called the launch “an important step” that could strengthen China’s influence in the international financial system and offer a “Chinese solution” for improving cross-border payment infrastructure.

Related: Don’t expect China’s stablecoin to touch the mainland

China aims to reduce dependence on the US dollar

China is also pursuing stablecoins to increase the yuan’s international reach and reduce its dependence on the dollar.

Although mainland China banned trading and mining cryptocurrencies in 2021, it has recently begun to reverse course.

In August 2025, Reuters reported that Chinese authorities were considering the authorization of yuan-backed stablecoins to promote the use of its currency globally.