Shanghai took tentative steps towards creating a yuan stablecoin, and the world’s first yuan-denominated tokenised fund entered the market as technology developments support China’s push for wider international use of its currency.
上海在创建人民币稳定币方面迈出了试探性步伐,随着技术发展支持中国推动其货币更广泛国际使用,世界上首支人民币计价代币化基金进入市场。
City leaders in Shanghai have ordered a study into the feasibility of introducing stablecoins, the Post reported this week, citing two local officials familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. China Asset Management’s Hong Kong arm, ChinaAMC, introduced the tokenised fund on Thursday ahead of the city’s implementation of a stablecoin regime on August 1 (See: SCMP Plus Factsheet). Stablecoins are digital tokens with a fixed value in a currency, such as the dollar or yuan.
据《南华早报》本周报道,上海地方领导人已下令研究引入稳定币的可行性,报道引述了两位不愿透露姓名的知情地方官员。中资资产管理公司在周四推出了代币化基金,该基金将于 8 月 1 日(见:SCMP Plus 事实清单)在上海实施稳定币制度之前推出。稳定币是以某种货币(如美元或人民币)为基准价值的数字代币。
US lawmakers also this week passed the Genius Act, which will create a legal framework for stablecoins, potentially bolstering confidence in the tokens and boosting their use. The technology may become a new US-China battleground as Beijing has softened opposition to stablecoins, partly because they could reduce reliance on US-dominated financial systems and pare the dollar’s roughly 60 per cent share of international payments.
美国立法者本周也通过了天才法案,该法案将创建稳定币的法律框架,可能增强对代币的信心并促进其使用。随着北京对稳定币的反对态度有所缓和,这项技术可能成为中美之间新的战场,部分原因是稳定币可以减少对美国主导的金融体系的依赖,并减少美元在国际支付中约 60%的份额。
The worldwide financial system needs to rewrite its rules for a future of stablecoins, an economic adviser to the Bank for International Settlements, the central bank for central banks, told the Post.
China is also building use of Africa as a test bed for yuan by adding an agreement with Egypt to accords with South Africa and Nigeria. The Egyptian pact includes potential central-bank currency swaps and plans to ease cross-border payments in yuan.
Efforts to globalise the Chinese currency are being supported by concerns about the sustainability of US government debt and potentially dollar weakness. China pared its exposure to these risks by cutting holdings of US Treasuries for a third month in a row in May to a fresh 16-year low. (See: SCMP Plus Factsheet).
The week that was
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Sustained growth: China’s economy largely weathered trade tensions in the second quarter, with growth only cooling to 5.2 per cent from 5.4 per cent in the preceding three months. The figure, which was in line with expectations, keeps the economy on track to meet a full-year growth target of about 5 per cent. June exports rose by 5.8 per cent and imports by 1.1 per cent, both of which beat expectations. New-home prices fell 0.3 per cent in June from a month earlier, the biggest decrease in eight months. June retail sales rose 4.8 per cent year on year and industrial output was up by 5.8 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
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Trade war: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors “not to worry about August 12,” the date when a 90-day tariff truce between China and the United States is due to expire. He also expects a new round of talks with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in the coming weeks. President Donald Trump announced a fourth bilateral trade agreement, this time with Indonesia (See: SCMP Plus Trump 2.0 Tariff Tracker). US commerce officials have also launched a probe into imports of drones and polysilicon, two sectors in which China holds a global lead.
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Nvidia China: US chip giant Nvidia will resume deliveries of H20 semiconductors in China after the Trump administration dropped curbs imposed in April. Rival AMD will also restart shipments of MI308 processors. Nvidia custom-designed the H20 to comply with earlier US export curbs (See: China Future Tech). China’s antitrust regulator approved US chip-design software giant Synopsys’ US$35 billion acquisition of Ansys less than two weeks after the Trump administration lifted export controls in the sector.
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Taiwan-US transit: Taiwan’s leader, William Lai, plans to stop over in New York and Texas in August on his way to Paraguay, sources told the Post, drawing complaints from Beijing. Paraguay is one of 12 countries worldwide that has formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña said this week that his country would “stand firmly by Taiwan,” its ally of 68 years, in a speech that coincided with a visit by Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
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China-Australia: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to China and said that Australia was committed to a one-China policy and opposed to Taiwanese independence. The Financial Times earlier reported that Pentagon officials had pressed Japan and Australia over what they would do in the event of conflict over Taiwan. Albanese said Australia did not support unilateral action in the Taiwan Strait. Separately, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, reaffirmed China-Russia ties in talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and agreed a restart of direct flights to India.
The week ahead
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China-EU summit: Top Chinese and EU officials may hold a long-anticipated summit in Beijing on Thursday amid efforts to reset relations in light of Trump’s assault on global trade. The talks have reportedly been pared to one day from two, partly due to EU pessimism about what can be achieved. In the run-up to the summit, Airbus signed a deal with its Chinese partner, increasing localisation of A321 aircraft production.
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Fentanyl action: Stricter Chinese regulations on two chemicals used in the manufacture of fentanyl take effect on Sunday. The government announced in June that it would place 4-piperidone and 1-Boc-4-piperidone under enhanced controls. President Trump this week praised China for “making big steps” in combating the illicit trade in fentanyl, a powerful opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the US.
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Scholarships scrutiny: Seven US universities face a Tuesday deadline to provide lawmakers with information about ties to China’s main body for state-funded scholarships. John Moolenaar, the head of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent letters to the institutions last week requesting that they reassess and justify relations with the Chinese Scholarship Council. Dartmouth College, Temple University, the University of Tennessee and the University of Notre Dame were among the seven institutions, along with the Davis, Irvine and Riverside campuses of the University of California.
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Legco elections: Nominations to fill 93 vacancies on Hong Kong’s 1,500-strong election committee open on Tuesday. The window closes on August 4, with voting scheduled for September 7. The body will pick 40 of the 90 candidates for the city’s December 7 Legislative Council election. A bill expanding the scope for punishing Hong Kong lawmakers who misbehave in office could be approved as early as Wednesday.
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Video game release: China’s next hit video game, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, is released on Thursday. Pre-orders for the title, from Sichuan province-based Chengdu Lingze Technology, have already made it a bestseller on Steam, a digital games store. The release follows the success of Black Myth: Wukong, which has sold 25 million copies worldwide. It was developed by Tencent-backed Game Science.