China's digital Yuan: Motivations of the Chinese government and potential global effects

In: Journal of contemporary China, Band 32, Heft 139, S. 87-105

Abstract

This article highlights the key motivations behind China's plan to launch the digital yuan and reviews the potential impacts on China and abroad. The article analyzes the digital yuan's benefits to consumers, such as a reliable low-risk, low cost, and high-efficiency payment solution and the potential to promote financial inclusion. It compares the digital yuan with its most prominent competitors. Also discussed is how the digital yuan is expected to provide the Chinese Communist Party with a new powerful tool to monitor and control its economy and people. The article provides a critical evaluation of the potential of the digital yuan's internationalization. This article also provides a perspective on the digital yuan to set global standards for the development of national digital currencies. (J Contemp China/GIGA)