The central bank released the 2026 RMB internationalization report showing that from January to June 2026, the total amount of RMB cross-border payments made by banks on behalf of customers was 42.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 21.4% over the previous year. The RMB has become the largest settlement currency for China's external payments. It is the world's second largest trade finance currency, the third largest payment currency, and the fifth largest foreign exchange transaction currency; the RMB ranks third in the world in weight in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights currency basket.

The central bank released the 2026 RMB internationalization report showing that from January to June 2026, the total amount of RMB cross-border payments made by banks on behalf of customers was 42.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 21.4% over the previous year. The RMB has become the largest settlement currency for China's external payments. It is the world's second largest trade finance currency, the third largest payment currency, and the fifth largest foreign exchange transaction currency; the RMB ranks third in the world in weight in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights currency basket.