cross-posted from : lemmy.zip/post/57925008
the world’s second-largest economy’s trade surplus hit a record $1.2 trillion in 2025, monthly forex inflows touched $100 billion, the largest ever, and the global usage of China’s currency, the yuan, has expanded.
When British Prime Minister Keir Starmer lands in China on Wednesday evening hoping to reinvigorate recently strained business ties, analysts and experts say Beijing is expected to further expand its global political and economic influence.
Some of the big global banks are scrambling to boost yuan liquidity in offshore hubs and put in place frameworks for faster payment settlements in yuan in trade corridors of China and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, they added.
More than half of China’s cross-border transactions are now settled in yuan, from almost none 15 years ago, while nearly half of China’s overseas bank lending is now in renminbi, according to the latest data from the PBOC and SAFE.