China: Published white paper on the digital yuan development

On 16 July 2021, the Central Bank of China published a white paper on the development of the digital yuan, the virtual equivalent of the fiat currency. The paper clarified the state of the development of the e-CNY, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the People's Bank of China, that will be handled by authorised operators and receive legal tender status. The paper lists the following aims of the currency: ensuring financial inclusion, providing a public digital cash system, promoting competition and interoperability between different forms of digital currency, enhancing cross border payments and incentivising internationalisation. In addition, the paper states that the e-CNY is mainly designed for domestic use.