Yuxing's Intelligent Universe

  I. Executive Summary The global financial landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) emerging as a key area of innovation. Among these, China's digital yuan, or e-CNY, stands out as the first digital currency issued by a major economy, signaling a potential shift in international trade and finance. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the e-CNY's role in international trade, its underlying payment infrastructures such as mBridge and CIPS, its comparison with traditional systems like SWIFT, China's currency control mechanisms, the implications for the RMB's status as a global reserve currency, and the broader geopolitical context driving these developments. The findings suggest that while the e-CNY offers notable advantages in efficiency and cost, its path to widespread international adoption and reserve currency status is complex and faces considerable hurdles related to China's capital controls a...