A landscape design of the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2026 in Beijing, October 19, 2026 Photo: VCG

　　Chinese and foreign officials and experts engaged in intensive discussions on the international use of the yuan at the ongoing Annual Conference of the Financial Street Forum (FSF) 2026 in Beijing on Wednesday, saying that the continuous progress in the yuan"s internationalization will facilitate global trade and inject certainty into the world economy.

　　"In recent years, China has steadfastly advanced financial reform and opening-up, playing a constructive role in global financial governance. The yuan has become the largest settlement currency for China"s external receipts and payments, the world"s second-largest trade finance currency, and the third-largest payment currency. Its weight in the IMF"s Special Drawing Rights currency basket ranks third globally," You Jun, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People"s Congress, said in a speech at a sub-forum of the FSF.

　　Looking at the current development landscape, the international use of the yuan is accelerating its shift from quantitative change to qualitative transformation, Zhang Hui, president of Bank of China, said in a speech.

　　Cross-border yuan settlement is moving from "available" to "routinely used," cross-border yuan investment and financing are evolving from "usable" to "user-friendly," and the cross-border payment network is transitioning from "connected" to "seamlessly accessible," according to Zhang.

　　"Yuan business is an important part of the wider UK-China financial relationship," British Ambassador to China Peter Wilson said in his speech.