The Economic Information Daily, affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, published an article on Thursday recommending measures for further adoption of the digital yuan.
Editorial said that local governments should increase their budgets to support the pilot implementation. He added that state-owned entities should take the lead in adopting e-CNY. The post also recommends expanding the digital yuan to more merchants, especially e-commerce platforms, and launching more campaigns to promote CBDC to the public. Op-ed added that the central bank should work on the rights and responsibilities of the digital yuan while legislation on the project continues.
China’s CBDC – digital yuan or e-CNY – started trials in Shenzhen in October 2020, surpassing 87.565 billion yuan ($11.238 billion) trading volume by the end of 2021. The pilot was extended to 23 Chinese cities. But in April, the central bank acknowledged that the project faces challenges that need further study and addressing in terms of convenience, inclusion, innovation, security, compliance and sustainability. According to data released at the end of last year, the average transfer amount for each personal digital yuan wallet is 335.5 yuan ($52.66), which is 1.4% of the average annual spending of Chinese residents in 2021.
Subtracting the transaction volumes by corporate/business wallets, the actual average transfer volume could be further reduced.