Foreign Holdings of China’s Onshore Yuan Assets Top 11 Trillion Yuan

Foreign holdings of China’s onshore yuan-denominated financial assets have exceeded 11 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion), as Beijing steps up efforts to expand the currency’s global role.

At a Thursday press briefing, People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Lu Lei said yuan internationalization is progressing in a “steady and irreversible” manner. He said the yuan has become China’s largest cross-border settlement currency, the world’s second-largest trade finance currency and the third-largest payment currency. It also has the third-largest weighting in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights basket.