The reporter has learned from the Fujian Provincial Branch of the People’s Bank of China that the cross-border RMB business settlement in Fujian Province reached RMB 1.21914 trillion yuan in 2023, breaking through 1 trillion yuan for the first time and setting a new historical high. This marked a 37.6% year-on-year growth, despite the high base of nearly doubling last year. The proportion of cross-border RMB receipts and payments in the total amount of foreign currency receipts and payments increased from 33% at the end of last year to 46%. Specifically, the volume of cross-border RMB settlement under trade items reached RMB 442.43 billion yuan, also setting a new historical high with a year-on-year growth of 60.4%, which is 26.9 percentage points higher than the national average growth rate. The proportion of cross-border RMB receipts and payments under trade items in the total amount of foreign currency receipts and payments increased by 7.2 percentage points from the beginning of the year.

Since 2023, in response to the growing demand for the RMB by business entities, the accelerated diversification of the international monetary system, and the ever-changing international macro environment, the Fujian Provincial Branch of the People’s Bank of China has taken advantage of the context and been actively promoting the use of the RMB in cross-border trade and investment to serve the real economy and facilitate trade and investment. In 2023, the province saw an increase of 4,564 new cross-border RMB “first-time settlers”, totaling RMB 145.79 billion yuan. The province's banking institutions processed a total of RMB 20.95 billion yuan in cross-border RMB business, including trade financing and overseas lending, marking a 49% year-on-year increase. Additionally, the province's 55 cross-border RMB two-way fund pools handled a cumulative business of RMB 175.1 billion yuan, showing a 75.9% year-on-year increase.