China joins Thailand, UAE in digital currency research project

BEIJING - Central banks of China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates as well as Hong Kong Monetary Authority have launched the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge (m-CBDC Bridge) project to study the application of CBDC in the field of cross-border payment, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said Wednesday.

The Hong Kong branch of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub has also extended its support to the research project, the PBOC added.

The participants of the project will evaluate the feasibility of m-CBDC Bridge application in cross-border capital transfer, international trade settlement and foreign exchange transactions, among others.

The research project will build an enabling environment for more central banks in Asia and other regions to jointly conduct research on enhancing cross-border payment capacity in order to solve problems such as low efficiency, low transparency and high costs, the PBOC said.