Vice Governor of the Central Bank Lu Lei: The new generation of digital RMB measurement framework, management system, operational mechanism, and ecological system will officially start implementation on January 1, 2026

The "Suggestions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," approved at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party, proposes to "accelerate the construction of a financial powerhouse" and "steadily develop the digital renminbi," providing an action guide for the development and improvement of the digital renminbi in the coming period. In response to the trends of digitalization and intelligence in economic and social development, to deeply implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourse on financial work, to meet the new demands of the real economy and financial system for the issuance, circulation, and use of the digital renminbi, and to grasp the historical trend of the evolution of the international monetary system, the People's Bank of China will issue the "Action Plan for Further Strengthening the Management and Service System of Digital Renminbi and Related Financial Infrastructure Construction" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"). The new generation of digital renminbi measurement framework, management system, operational mechanism, and ecological system will officially start implementation on January 1, 2026.

I. Adhere to Progress with the Times and Grasp the Positioning and Development Direction of Digital Renminbi

General Secretary Xi Jinping has clearly stated, "We must promote financial innovation and development on the track of marketization and rule of law. The safety of finance relies on systems, vitality comes from the market, and order depends on the rule of law." With the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008, digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and new payment tools have emerged one after another. This is not only an objective reflection of the digitalization and intelligence of the economy in the financial sector but also brings a series of micro and macro financial risk challenges such as shadow banking and financial disintermediation. In the face of the new situation, central banks of major economies and international organizations have begun to develop Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In 2018, the Bank for International Settlements defined central bank digital cash as "digital cash issued by the central bank based on value/blockchain models." The European Central Bank defined it as "a central bank liability provided to citizens and businesses in digital form for retail payments." These economies and international organizations examine digital currency from the perspective of central bank responsibilities.

China's research and development of the digital renminbi started relatively early. In 2014, under the unified deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, the People's Bank of China initiated theoretical research and closed testing. In 2016, the People's Bank of China proposed a theoretical framework for legal digital currency with characteristics of digital currency (DC/EP) and cautiously and scientifically explored the management system and operational mechanism of the digital renminbi (e-CNY). After repeated demonstrations and open pilot projects, a preliminary ecological system for the digital renminbi has been constructed, walking out a path of digital currency development with Chinese characteristics led by the central bank, relying on commercial financial institutions and the existing payment system, and integrating the latest technological advancements.

Currently, the domestic and cross-border trials and promotion of the digital renminbi have achieved positive results, and among the projects being tested and promoted by central banks in various countries, the digital renminbi is in a leading position. First, it has the capability of a general mixed currency. The digital renminbi has both account models and blockchain models; it has both software wallets and hardware wallets; it can be used for online payments as well as offline payments. Second, it has the capability of programmable currency. By utilizing smart contracts of the digital renminbi, it achieves the digitization of contracts and mandatory automatic execution Third, it has the capability of efficient regulatory currency, with strong management transparency, standardization, and interoperability. Fourth, it has the capability of full-scenario currency, forming replicable and promotable application models in various fields such as wholesale and retail, catering and cultural tourism, education and healthcare, public services, social governance, rural revitalization, and cross-border settlement, covering both online and offline. It has implemented multiple scenarios in the financial "five major articles." As of the end of November 2025, the digital renminbi has processed a total of 3.48 billion transactions, with a cumulative transaction amount of 16.7 trillion yuan. Through the digital renminbi APP, 230 million personal wallets have been opened, and 18.84 million digital renminbi unit wallets have been established. The multilateral central bank digital currency bridge (mBridge) has processed a total of 4,047 cross-border payment transactions, with a cumulative transaction amount equivalent to 387.2 billion yuan, of which the proportion of digital renminbi in transactions of various currencies is about 95.3%.

At the same time, we are keenly aware that as the demand for the development and application of digital currency in the economic and social sphere continues to rise, the digital currencies promoted by central banks around the world face four common theoretical and practical challenges.

First, it is necessary to correctly recognize the challenges posed by rapidly iterating modern digital payment tools to central bank monetary control. From various virtual assets to current stablecoins, they all appear in the form of payment tools, objectively forming and nurturing various emerging "currencies" that self-circulate outside the financial system as payment and circulation means, leading to rapid inflation of payment tools and risks associated with the sharp fluctuations in financial asset prices. Achieving the low-cost and high-efficiency advantages of digital payment methods while ensuring effective macro-control and orderly market development is a practical requirement that central banks in various countries must face.

Second, it is necessary to correctly handle the challenges of digital cash (Digital Currency) development and the risk of financial "disintermediation." Compared to a broader definition of currency, cash has the characteristic of real-time payment. However, apart from the issuance and withdrawal stages, cash circulation operates independently outside the financial system and does not require financial intermediaries to provide transaction circulation services. In monetary finance theory, the emergence of modern banking has transformed cash into deposits within the banking system, and through lending, continuously derived deposit money, thus truly transitioning the economic society from the ancient cash (Currency) era to the modern monetary (Money) era. Digital cash is the digital form of cash, and the generation of digital cash wallets and the act of converting bank deposits into digital cash are equivalent to increasing cash issuance, reducing liquidity in the banking system, and lowering the money multiplier. This is the real impact that all digital payment methods that have detached from the banking system have already brought and continue to bring.

Third, it is necessary to correctly handle the challenges of digital cash as a liability of the central bank and the responsibilities of commercial banks. Digital cash, as a liability of the central bank to the public, theoretically does not require the participation of commercial banks and other financial institutions in its operation and maintenance. However, in research and pilot projects, there are significant differences in the rights and responsibilities relationship between digital cash and circulating paper currency. Commercial banks are indispensable operators for opening digital wallets, developing scenarios, and maintaining technology, and their services accompany the entire lifecycle of digital cash circulation. They bear direct responsibility for the safety, reliability, continuity, and irretrievability of digital cash circulation, as well as the "three anti" (anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing, anti-tax evasion), effectively becoming the responsible entity for digital cash Establishing a scientifically reasonable relationship of rights and responsibilities is an unavoidable issue in the design of digital cash mechanisms.

Fourth, it is essential to correctly handle the challenge of "centralized" management compatible with bank accounts and the "decentralized" characteristics of blockchain (Distributed Ledger Technology, DLT). In the practical operation of currency as a means of payment, the advantage of accounts lies in ensuring customer rights and complying with regulatory requirements such as anti-money laundering and anti-fraud; the advantage of blockchain is in reducing the costs of rights confirmation and trust. How to achieve compatibility between the two models is a difficult and painful point in mechanism design.

In response to real challenges, adhering to a problem-oriented approach, based on the theoretical prototype of DC/EP, and after in-depth research and experimentation, the "Action Plan" clarifies that digital renminbi will transition from the digital cash era to the digital deposit money era. The future digital renminbi will be a modern digital payment and circulation means issued and circulated within the financial system, supported by the central bank's technical assurance and regulatory implementation, possessing the liability attributes of commercial banks, based on accounts, compatible with the characteristics of distributed ledger technology, and equipped with functions of monetary value measurement, value storage, and cross-border payment.

II. Adhere to the dual-layer operational structure of "one account for the whole system"

Unlike the rampant "decentralization" (currency issuance detached from central banks) and "dematerialization" (currency circulation and transactions detached from licensed, regulated financial institutions, entering external circulation) technical routes of crypto assets, the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China has completed the first-generation prototype design (cash-type digital renminbi version 1.0) and successfully tested the "central bank-commercial institution" dual-layer operational system globally.

First, it has the same legal and economic attributes as existing bank deposits. Since the establishment of the Swedish central bank in 1668 and the Bank of England in 1694, in the modern financial system, currency issuance and derivation have been a mature system under the "central bank-commercial bank" dual structure. The issuance of base currency by the central bank and the currency derivation operations of commercial banks constitute an important foundational system for the unity of currency, requiring a high degree of integration between monetary finance and the real economy. In 2016, China proposed the dual-layer operational system for digital renminbi, which has been widely recognized by global central banks and international organizations after ten years of practical testing, becoming a universal standard for digital currency and a foundational system to ensure the internal circulation of the monetary system and safeguard financial stability. The "Action Plan" further optimizes the "dual-layer structure" under the theoretical framework of DC/EP. At the top-level central bank end, the digital renminbi is governed by the central bank, which is responsible for formulating business rules and technical standards, and for planning, constructing, and operating related infrastructure. At the second-layer operational institution (hereinafter referred to as "operational institution") end, commercial banks open digital renminbi wallets for individuals and units on their own interfaces, responsible for the security of customers' digital renminbi, providing circulation payment services, assuming corresponding compliance and anti-money laundering responsibilities, and falling under the scope of deposit insurance, enjoying the same security guarantees as deposits. Digital renminbi provided by non-bank payment institutions is exchanged by customers with their own bank deposits, belonging to the liabilities of non-bank payment institutions, and is legally included in the regulatory supervision of digital renminbi collateral Second, prevent and control the risks of financial disintermediation and shadow banking. While the application of digital technology significantly enhances payment efficiency, it also brings about cash leakage, financial disintermediation, external circulation, and anti-money laundering risks. To further clarify the responsibilities of operating institutions and the relationship of rights and obligations, the "Action Plan" standardizes the measurement framework for digital renminbi, incorporating the digital renminbi of bank-type digital renminbi business operating institutions into the reserve system framework. The balance of digital renminbi wallets opened by these institutions is uniformly included in the deposit reserve base. Non-bank payment institutions participating in digital renminbi operations are required to implement a 100% digital renminbi margin. The balance of digital renminbi wallets is classified into corresponding currency tiers based on liquidity. This institutional arrangement, based on the "dual-layer structure," clarifies that the digital renminbi in customers' commercial bank wallets is a liability of commercial banks based on accounts, marking the transition of digital renminbi from cash-type version 1.0 to deposit currency-type digital renminbi version 2.0.

Third, fully leverage the advantages of cash payment and the income advantages of bank accounts as compatible incentives. In fulfilling the payment function of currency, real-time settlement, anonymity, and offline payment are irreplaceable advantages of cash in the digital economy era, which heavily relies on terminals, networks, and mobile internet. The "Action Plan" proposes to "comprehensively promote the construction of the digital renminbi acceptance environment," achieving real-time settlement through efficient system design and a unified ledger, thereby significantly reducing transaction costs associated with the separation of information flow and capital flow. At the same time, the interest-earning capability of accounts compared to cash incentivizes individuals and entities, and the stability of deposit currency liabilities incentivizes commercial banks, making it a decisive factor that cannot be overlooked in any currency innovation work. Within the "dual-layer structure," the "Action Plan" specifies that banking institutions will pay interest on customers' real-name digital renminbi wallet balances, adhering to self-regulatory agreements on deposit interest rate pricing. This arrangement, based on the principle that substance outweighs form, initially forms a compatible incentive arrangement. Thus, banks can independently conduct asset-liability management for digital renminbi wallet balances, with deposit insurance providing legal security equivalent to that of deposits. For non-bank payment institutions, there is no difference between the digital renminbi margin and the customer reserve funds of non-bank payment institutions.

Three, adhere to the advantages of compatible account-type management and blockchain efficiency

General Secretary Xi Jinping has made clear requirements for financial innovation, stating that "it must be rooted in serving the real economy and adapt to the needs of consumers and investors." Unlike the purely blockchain technology models explored by some international organizations and central banks, since 2016, China's digital renminbi has followed a development path characterized by a "hybrid structure with both account and value (blockchain technology) features," always taking the monetary payment needs of the real economy as its starting point and foundation. Currently, crypto assets and stablecoins are based on a value-type technical route, leading to a popular judgment that only the application of blockchain is true digital currency. China's pilots and practices have proven that an account-based approach, utilizing digital technologies such as smart contracts, can achieve lower costs and higher efficiency in digital currency payment services. In massive retail and wholesale segments, relying on accounts to implement digital technology maintains centralization and effective management; in specific scenarios that require enhanced trust, relying on blockchain to achieve collaborative transactions maintains adaptability to new technologies and new scenarios, representing a cautiously explored, thoroughly validated, and meticulously tested innovative hybrid model with Chinese characteristics for digital renminbi Based on the account system, the comprehensive application of digital technologies such as digital currency strings, smart contracts, and blockchain has moved digital renminbi from electronic payment into the digital payment era.

First, we will promote the application of digital currency and smart contract technology within the account system. The pilot research and development of digital renminbi is not starting from scratch, but rather leveraging the mature management advantages of bank accounts as the basic unit of payment. The "Action Plan" clarifies the digitalization scheme of "account system + currency string + smart contract," proposing to upgrade the existing account system and promote the application of emerging technologies based on new accounts (digital renminbi wallets), enhancing the digital and intelligent levels of renminbi issuance, circulation, payment, and other links, and upgrading the digital renminbi smart contract ecological service platform to support the construction of an open-source ecological system for smart contracts. On one hand, accounts can integrate into the existing business system of banks, possessing advantages of standardization, compliance, recognizability, and strong interoperability. Combined with programmable capabilities and smart contracts, digital renminbi has unique precision and accessibility advantages in expanding services in the financial "five major articles" scenarios, such as innovative financial solutions for upstream and downstream supply chains, promoting the intelligent development of the "carbon inclusive" system, strengthening prepaid fund management for financial consumer protection, and serving smart elderly care, among others, are in a continuous leap forward. On the other hand, the regulatory transparency and multi-level fund management capabilities of the currency string and digital renminbi umbrella wallet system have low-cost and efficient application prospects in closed-loop areas such as public utilities, medical insurance and social security, corporate treasury management, green energy trading, and treasury fund operations.

Second, we will utilize new financial technology means such as blockchain to support the financial "five major articles" and improve cross-border payment efficiency. Among many digital means, blockchain technology has technical characteristics such as being difficult to tamper with, traceable, multi-source information sharing, and multi-party peer collaboration, which has advantages in industries such as securities settlement, property transfer, transaction registration, and supply chain finance, and is expected to achieve "multi-flow integration" of logistics, capital flow, and document flow in complex financial scenarios, reshaping the trust-building mechanism among multiple stakeholders.

The "Action Plan" proposes to establish an international operation center for digital renminbi in Shanghai and further promote a multilateral central bank digital currency bridge, both of which are practical applications of blockchain technology at the level of digital renminbi. At the international operation center for digital renminbi, a blockchain service platform and digital asset platform have been built based on the Chengfang chain foundation, achieving "unified ledger, business domain separation," providing on-chain settlement tools and cross-chain transfer capabilities, exploring compliance asset digital innovation conducive to penetrating regulation, supporting on-chain issuance, registration, custody, and fund settlement of bills, trade financing tools, carbon emission rights, etc., gradually forming advantages of 24/7 operation, single-point docking, diverse services, currency connectivity, and system connectivity. The multilateral central bank digital currency bridge focuses on leveraging the distributed ledger technology characteristics of blockchain to effectively address the "business sovereignty and currency sovereignty" issues of various jurisdictions, achieving equal identity, power, responsibility, and interests among all participating entities, and synchronizing data among all participants. In the next step, the cross-border use of digital renminbi will continue to expand through technological iteration, continuously broaden the access scope, reduce service costs, facilitate cross-border trade and investment financing, support offshore financial business innovation, and promote high-level, institutionalized openness. Looking ahead, the business and technical model selection for the digital renminbi will adhere to the fundamental starting point of meeting the needs of the real economy, adopting a principle of inclusiveness and prudent selection for the development directions of account-based and value-based digital currencies, and promoting the digital renminbi to meet the needs of different scenarios and different operating entities.**

IV. Upholding the "breakwater" and "wave barrier" for the development of the digital renminbi

General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that financial work should adhere to the principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, and establishing before breaking; it is necessary to actively advance, firmly establish what should be established, and continuously solve problems and make progress while stabilizing the situation and maintaining the basic state. The primary focus of steadily developing the digital renminbi is stability, continuously improving the construction of a risk prevention and control safety net.

First, ensure comprehensive functional supervision through the separation of management and operation. The "Action Plan" clearly states that at the "management" level, the People's Bank of China will establish a digital renminbi management committee to coordinate relevant business lines and conduct functional supervision within their respective responsibilities, forming a joint force. A self-regulatory office will be established at the Digital Currency Research Institute to take the lead in formulating and promoting the implementation of self-regulatory norms for the operation and development of the digital renminbi, guiding participating institutions to establish and improve market incentive mechanisms. At the "operation" level, ensure the safety and continuity of system operations. Under the management of the Digital Currency Research Institute, the digital renminbi operation management center and the international operation center are respectively responsible for the construction, operation, and security protection of the central bank's digital renminbi system and cross-border business system, forming a "two wings" pattern that supports domestic and international dual circulation. The separation of management and operation provides a mechanism guarantee for the digital renminbi to be "manageable and innovative."

Second, advance regulatory technology and capability construction in line with the times. Currently, artificial intelligence and big data technology are empowering a new generation of financial regulatory technology. Through the overall governance of data in the digital renminbi system, the quality of business data can be effectively improved. By establishing "total-to-total" regulatory data interfaces and adding regulatory nodes on the blockchain service platform, the real-time and effectiveness of data acquisition by regulatory departments can be enhanced, achieving flexible, efficient, and intelligent risk identification. Keeping a close eye on the development trends of new technologies such as quantum-resistant cryptography, computing power, and smart contracts, continuously updating and iterating, and relying on self-controllable, secure, and reliable infrastructure to effectively prevent financial risks and maintain financial stability. Standing at a new starting point, the digital renminbi is based on a "dual-layer structure," always adhering to the principle of maintaining integrity while innovating, taking serving the real economy as its fundamental purpose, effectively preventing and controlling risks, and scientifically and steadily promoting the gradual transition of digital cash and electronic payments to digital currencies and digital payments, striving to inject technological and contemporary momentum into achieving a "strong currency," and solidifying the modern monetary foundation for building a strong financial nation.

Source: Financial Times