China Expands Digital Yuan Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure with Laos and Singapore

China has publicly launched a cross-border payment infrastructure using the digital yuan, expanding connections with Laos and Singapore. The move extends beyond personal payments to include trade settlements and supply chain financing. China's Digital Yuan International Operations Center showcased 'Cross-Border Digital Yuan Infrastructure' and an 'Open Ecosystem' at the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo on July 17th, as reported by PANews.

The exhibition highlighted platforms like CBETS, a cross-border payment platform based on digital yuan connecting commercial banks and payment institutions, and mBridge, a multi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform. It emphasized the expansion of digital yuan from domestic retail payments to international financial infrastructure.

China stated that CBETS has connected with Laos' LAPNet barcode payment system, enabling cross-border barcode payments between users in both countries. China is also advancing pilot projects for cross-border digital yuan settlements with Singapore, though specific timelines and transaction volumes were not disclosed at the event.

The exhibition included examples of smart contracts for prepayment management and supply chain finance using digital yuan. CBETS was designed to integrate payment processing across institutions handling orders, payments, trade documents, and settlement. mBridge, supported by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), is designed to enable real-time cross-border payments and foreign exchange transactions using distributed ledger technology.

Twelve organizations including China Construction Bank, China Agricultural Bank, and Huawei participated in building the cross-border digital yuan ecosystem. Applications include trade settlements, e-commerce payments, power payments, and industrial supply chain finance.