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China’s ambition for its new digital currency has become a hotly debated – and often misunderstood –  issue in Washington and beyond. China is the first major economy to pilot a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and there is speculation the rollout is part of a larger plan to internationalize the Renminbi. But the real story is more complicated.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has been working on their Digital Currency/Electronic Payment system (DC/EP) since 2014. Recently, China began piloting the digital yuan for retail use in nearly two dozen cities. There are plans to accelerate domestic distribution ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in early 2022.

But what exactly is DC/EP? How does it work and what potential capabilities does it give the government? Could it overtake China’s existing fintech giants like Alipay and WeChat? What exactly are China’s international goals for the yuan and how it might it impact the dollar? Join Yaya Fanusie, Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Julia Friedlander, C. Boyden Gray Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the GeoEconomics Center, and Mark Sobel, the US Chair of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum for a fascinating discussion on China’s digital currency moderated by Josh Lipsky, Director of GeoEconomics Center.

Panel speakers

Yaya Fanusie
Adjunct Senior Fellow
Center for a New American Security

Julia Friedlander
C. Boyden Gray Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the GeoEconomics Center
Atlantic Council

Mark Sobel
US Chair
Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum

Moderator

Josh Lipsky
Director of GeoEconomics Center
Atlantic Council