BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Cross-border renminbi (RMB) payments and receipts expanded 24 percent year on year to 38.9 trillion yuan (5.42 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months, playing an improved role in serving the real economy, China's central bank said.

 

Of the total, cross-border goods trade settled in RMB accounted for 24.4 percent of the total cross-border goods trade settled in both domestic and foreign currencies, up 7 percentage points year on year and the highest level seen in recent years, per a report released by the People's Bank of China.

 

The function of the RMB as a financing currency continues to improve. Policies related to practices such as overseas lending by domestic banks and domestic bond issuance by overseas institutions have been introduced, and the RMB investment and financing environment has continued to improve, the report said.

 

Trading on the offshore RMB markets has become more active. The balance of RMB deposits on the main offshore markets was about 1.5 trillion yuan at the end of 2022, returning to a historic high, the report said.

 

The central bank will work to facilitate trade and investment, improve systems and infrastructure related to RMB cross-border investment, financing and transaction settlement, and support the healthy development of the offshore RMB markets.