Yuan rapidly gaining ground as Chinese firms plot global expansion

Yuan’s use in cross-border payments rose 14 per cent year on year to 35 trillion yuan (US$4.9 trillion), according to the People’s Bank of China

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The yuan is the world’s third-largest trade finance currency after the US dollar and the euro, according to a report by the China Banking Association. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:38pm, 17 Nov 2025

Chinese companies expanding overseas are increasingly using the yuan for financing and payments to build their international operations, boosting the currency’s growing clout in international trade and investment.

“Based on my calculation, 10 per cent of our company’s total orders were priced and settled in renminbi,” said Yang Feng, finance director for overseas marketing at Sieyuan Electric, in a panel discussion organised by Standard Chartered at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on November 7. The details of the panel discussion were posted on the bank’s official WeChat account on Friday.

He added that most Chinese companies that have business partnerships with Sieyuan “are often each other’s suppliers or customers, giving both sides a strong incentive to settle transactions in yuan”.

Shenzhen-listed Sieyuan Electric, which designs, manufactures and sells power transmission and distribution equipment, has operations in many countries, including the UK, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Standard Chartered expects the Chinese government to promote greater use of the yuan in international transactions. Photo: Xinhua

In the first six months of the year, the use of the yuan in cross-border payments totalled 35 trillion yuan (US$4.9 trillion), up 14 per cent from a year earlier, according to the People’s Bank of China.

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Yuan rapidly gaining ground as Chinese firms plot global expansion

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yuan’s use in cross-border payments rose 14 per cent year on year to 35 trillion yuan (US$4.9 trillion), according to the People’s Bank of China

Yuan’s use in cross-border payments rose 14 per cent year on year to 35 trillion yuan (US$4.9 trillion), according to the People’s Bank of China