In the Jiangsu province of Nanjing, China has opened its first industrial park devoted to creating and utilizing the digital yuan, or e-CNY.
The park, which has a 10 square kilometer footprint, seeks to draw over 100 businesses and organizations involved in the blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and financial technology sectors.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the Nanjing branch of the central bank, and the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone signed a strategic partnership agreement on October 12 to formally establish the park.
The agreement specifies the park’s vision, objectives, and strategies; these will act as a foundation for creativity, experimentation, and e-CNY promotion.
Several e-CNY experimental projects and scenarios, including cross-border payments, digital identity verification, smart contracts, and digital asset management, will also occur at the park.
The e-CNY Internationalization Platform, which the PBOC developed in July to promote cross-border trade and investment utilizing the e-CNY, is one of the digital currencies and platforms the park will support in integrating with the e-CNY.
Launching the project is a part of China’s initiatives to quicken the study and creation of its sovereign digital currency, which was started by the PBOC in 2014.
The e-CNY is intended to be an instrument for monetary policy implementation, financial stability, and legal tender that can be utilized for retail payments.
The e-CNY is a digital representation of the real yuan that the central bank backs, not a cryptocurrency. Since 2020, China has been testing the e-CNY in numerous cities and provinces, involving millions of users and tens of thousands of retailers.
Multiple e-CNY features and functions have been tested, including offline payments, dual offline wallets, intelligent suggestions, and manageable anonymity.
International partners like the Bank for International Settlements and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have also participated in the trials. China has made considerable advancements in developing the e-CNY, according to Deputy Governor of the PBOC Fan Yifei, and will continue to investigate further use cases and situations for its implementation.
China would actively participate in international debates and collaboration on digital currency-related issues, according to Yifei, who also stated that the country would uphold the principles of transparency, cooperation, and coordination in moving the e-CNY project forward.
