- Chinese cities have launched digital yuan (e-CNY) activities worth more than $26.6 million (180 million yuan) to promote its adoption.
- During the Spring Festival, nearly 200 yuan digital activities were launched across China, totaling more than $26.6 million (180 million yuan).
According to a recent report by the Global Times, Chinese cities launched digital yuan (e-CNY) activities worth more than $26.6 million (180 million yuan) to promote its adoption during the Spring Festival holiday, including subsidies, consumption vouchers and other programs.
In recent months, China has rapidly developed the digital yuan. Many local governments distributed digital yuan vouchers to promote their adoption during the first Spring Festival holiday after China improved its Covid-19 prevention measures.
During the Spring Festival, nearly 200 yuan digital activities were launched across China, totaling more than $26.6 million (180 million yuan).
Jinan in east China’s Shandong Province and Lianyungang in east China’s Jiangsu Province issued digital yuan vouchers during the season.
Some local governments have used the digital yuan to support businesses to help them recover. Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong Province has issued $14.7 million (100 million yuan) in digital yuan to the restaurant industry.
Earlier, Hangzhou issued an e-voucher worth 12 US dollars (80 yuan) to each resident last month, with the total giveaway costing the city about 590,000 US dollars (4 million yuan).
Commercial enterprises also participated in the digital yuan consumption campaign. Their activities were more diversified and included mobile communications, supermarkets, transportation, tourism and other industries.
Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in digital currency. Data from Chinese e-commerce platform Meituan revealed that people accepted e-CNY currency distributed by the government in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, within 9 seconds.
China is strictly implementing its CBDC plan
Other goals and features to increase the use of CBDCs have also been implemented by the Chinese government in recent months.
Last week, senior officials of the ruling party in Suzhou put an initial KPI of $300 billion (2 trillion yuan) in electronic transactions in Chinese yuan in the city by the end of 2023.
The goal is ambitious given that cumulative e-CNY transactions have surpassed $14 billion (100 billion yuan) by October 2022, two years after the launch of the CBDC.
In December 2022, Xie Ping, the former central bank governor of China, expressed his disappointment that the Chinese digital yuan had not been used.
Two years after the launch, the cumulative digital yuan transactions had reached only $14 billion (100 billion yuan) by October 2022, Peng said. “The results are not perfect,” he said, adding that “utilization has been low and very inactive.”