China"sRenminbi(RMB)hasconstantlyexpandeditsinternationalcircleoffriendsasChinaseesbettereconomicdevelopmentandahigherlevelofopeningup,playingamoreimportantroleincross-borderpayment,investmentandfinancing,exchangereservesandinvoicing.

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Avesselcarrying65,000tonsofliquefiednaturalgas(LNG)isunloadedatanLNGreceptionstationofChinaNationalOffshoreOilCorporationinsouthChina"sGuangdongprovince,May16.ItisChina"sfirstyuan-settledLNGtrade.(People"sDailyOnline/LiJianqiang)

AChineseofficialrevealedthatthecountrywillfurtherimprovethefundamentalsystemsforRMBsettlementsincross-borderinvestmentandfinancingtransactions,enhancetheopening-upofChina"sforeignexchangeandfinancialmarketandensurebetteraccesstoit,andkeeppromotingtheinternationalizationoftheRMBinanorderlymanner.

OnApril26,theArgentinegovernmentdeclaredthatitwouldpayforimportsfromChinawithRMB.Argentina"sEconomyMinisterSergioMassasaidthisindicatedfurtheractivationofthecurrencyswapagreementbetweenChinaandArgentina,whichhelpsArgentinastrengthenitsforeignexchangereservesandisofimportantsignificanceforthecountrytobetteritseconomicsituation.

PreviouslyonFebruary7,China"scentralbank,thePeople"sBankofChina(PBOC),announcedthatithadsignedwithitsBraziliancounterpartamemorandumofcooperationonsettingupRMBclearingarrangementsinBrazil.

Twomonthslater,theIndustrialandCommercialBankofChina(ICBC),authorizedbythePBOCasanRMBclearingbankinBrazil,hasprocessedthefirstcross-borderRMBsettlementtransactionintheSouthAmericancountryatitslocalbranchthere,whichmarkedsubstantialprogressoftheICBC"scross-borderRMBbusinessinBrazil.

AttheendofMarchthisyear,thefirstyuan-settledliquefiednaturalgas(LNG)tradewascompleted,abigstepofChina"sexplorationinthecross-borderyuanpaymentinpetrolandgastrade.

ItisreportedthatthefirstinternationalLNGtransactionsettledintheChinesecurrencywasmadebetweenChinaNationalOffshoreOilCorporationandFrance"sTotalEnergies.Approximately65,000tonsofLNGimportedfromtheUnitedArabEmirateswastraded.

Accordingtostatistics,China"scross-borderreceiptsandpaymentssettledinRMBtotaled42trillionyuan($5.91trillion)in2022,anincreaseof3.4timescomparedto2017,andaccountedfornearlyhalfofthecountry"stotalcross-borderreceiptsandpayments.Anobviousriseinthecross-borderRMBsettlementswasreportedinthefirstquarterthisyear,too.

Besides,thePBOChasauthorized31RMBclearingbanksin29countriesandregions,andsignedbilateralcurrencyswapagreementswithcentralbanksormonetaryauthoritiesin40countriesandregions,withatotalvalueofmorethan4trillionyuan.

PeoplevisitaboothexhibitingArgentineproductsatthethirdChinaInternationalConsumerProductsExpoinHaikou,southChina"sHainanprovince,April11.(PhotofromtheofficialpageoftheArgentineEmbassyinChinaonWeibo)

"Cross-bordersettlementisoneoftheimportantindicatorsdemonstratingtheinternationalizationoftheRMB.TheChinesecurrencyisusedinmoreandmorecountriesandregionsforsettlementandpayment,whichmirrorsthatithasbeenfurtherinternationalized,"saidWangJiaqiang,aseniorresearcherwiththeBankofChinaResearchInstitute.

TheRMBisalsogettingpopulargloballyasareservecurrency.

AccordingtoarecentreportissuedbyBrazil"scentralbank,theRMBbecameaninternationalreservecurrencyofBrazilin2019.Asoftheendof2022,theproportionoftheRMBinBrazil"sinternationalexchangereservesreached5.37percent,exceedingtheproportionoftheeuroat4.74percent,whichmarkedthattheRMBbecameBrazil"ssecond-largestinternationalreservecurrency.

Over80centralbanksormonetaryauthoritieshavelistedtheRMBasaninternationalreservecurrency,includingBrazil"scentralbank.TheRMBhasretaineditspositionasthefifth-largestreservecurrency,anditsweightinginthebasketofcurrenciesthatmakeuptheInternationalMonetaryFundSpecialDrawingRights－aninternationalreserveassetalsoknownastheSDRsrankedthird.

"MoreandmorecentralbanksormonetaryauthoritiesareincludingRMBintheirforeignexchangereserves,whichfullyreflectsthedemandofthemarket.Inthepastyears,foreignexchangereservesheldbycentralbanksaroundtheworldweremostlyinU.S.dollars.However,"puttingalleggsinonebasket"isobviouslytothedisadvantageofthestabilityoftheinternationalmarketastheU.S.currencyfacesmoreandmoreuncertaintiestheseyears.TheRMBisgraduallyrecognizedasareservecurrency,anditoffersanewandreliablechoiceforcentralbanks,"saidZhangHuanbo,aresearcherwiththeChinaCenterforInternationalEconomicExchanges.

InsidersbelievethattheRMBhasachievednewbreakthroughsandprogressininternationalizationthisyear.

WiththeestablishmentofRMBclearingbanksandlocalcurrencyswapnetworks,thedevelopmentofoffshoreRMBmarket,theopeningofdomesticfinancialmarketandtheimprovementintheoverseaslayoutofChinesefinancialinstitutions,theRMBhaspreliminarilyshownthenetworkeffectofitsinternationaluse.

Besides,theinvestmentandrisk-hedgingfunctionsofRMBassetshavebeengraduallyenhanced,andenterprisesaremorewillingtouseRMBincross-bordertrade,investmentandfinancingtoavoidtheriskofcurrencymismatch.Theinternationalmonetarysystemismorediversified.