RMB Clearing Network Adds Key Node: Bank of China Uses Global Advantage to Propel RMB Internationalization

China's renminbi clearing network has gained another key node, with Bank of China's global layout advancing further. Recently, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced that it has authorized Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited Jakarta Branch to serve as the RMB clearing bank in Indonesia. So far, Bank of China has acted as an RMB clearing bank in 19 countries and regions, maintaining its market-leading position.

Currently, the renminbi has become the largest settlement currency for China's external payments, the second-largest trade finance currency globally and the third-largest payment currency. The international use of the RMB is entering a "fast lane." From Indonesia, the largest economy in ASEAN, to major global financial centers, and from traditional clearing networks to the digital currency bridge, Bank of China is weaving its global network and tailored financial solutions into the "BOC chapter" of RMB internationalization.

Strategic Move in Indonesia: Accelerating Internationalization

As ASEAN's largest economy, Indonesia has seen steadily deepening China-Indonesia comprehensive strategic partnership and trade ties. Establishing an RMB clearing bank in Indonesia is one of the practical outcomes of the China-Indonesia central bank joint working mechanism. It will further facilitate the use of RMB in bilateral trade and investment and push China-Indonesia economic and financial cooperation to a new level.

As the first Chinese bank to enter Indonesia, Bank of China has become the largest RMB service provider and the main RMB clearing channel in the country. Over the years, BOC has deepened its presence, continuously empowered RMB international use and financial market development.

BOC has expanded RMB application scenarios, leveraging its role as an Authorized Cross-Currency Dealer (ACCD) under the Local Currency Transaction (LCT) mechanism and as the Chinese RMB settlement bank for the China-Indonesia cross-border QR payment interoperability. It has continuously deepened product and service innovation, ensuring that RMB is "available" and "smoothly usable" in trade settlement and daily payments.

In terms of global services, Bank of China has continuously broadened RMB financing channels. In October 2025, BOC helped the Indonesian government make its debut in the global RMB bond market; to date, it has assisted in issuing two offshore RMB bonds with a total size exceeding RMB 10 billion, providing issuers with integrated, high-quality financial services and enabling RMB to "finance smoothly" and "flow freely" in cross-border investment and financing.

BOC has also supported offshore RMB market development. As the only Chinese bank approved as a primary market maker in Indonesia's money and foreign exchange markets, BOC provides two-way direct quotes for RMB/Indonesian rupiah, continuously injecting RMB liquidity into the Indonesian market so that RMB can be "quoted" and "exchanged" in offshore markets.

From application scenarios to financing channels and market making, BOC's practice in Indonesia is a vivid reflection of its global RMB clearing network construction. A BOC executive said the bank will make full use of its globalization and comprehensive advantages, actively fulfill its responsibilities as an RMB clearing bank, and provide market participants with better and more comprehensive RMB services.

Weaving a Global Network: From "First" to "Strongest"

The international use of the RMB relies on an efficient, secure and convenient cross-border clearing system. From the launch of the world's first RMB clearing bank in 2003 to today's comprehensive global infrastructure matrix, BOC has spent more than two decades deepening clearing network construction and consolidating the "main artery" of cross-border RMB circulation.

The clearing network has wider coverage. BOC's RMB clearing bank network spans key regions across Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and Oceania, covering major global financial centers and serving as an important infrastructure for cross-border RMB circulation.

Service depth has been continuously strengthened. As an important participant in the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), by the end of 2025 BOC Group had 46 direct CIPS participants and nearly 770 indirect participants. It provided cross-border RMB services for nearly one-quarter of domestic cross-border trade and more than 350,000 foreign-related enterprises, with major cross-border RMB businesses ranking first globally.

Innovative applications are landing faster. BOC has continued to innovate in cross-border RMB products and payments: in the mBridge multi-central bank digital currency project, BOC completed 2,100 transactions in 2025 with a value exceeding RMB 350 billion; it pioneered cross-border QR payment projects with Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia; and became one of the first pilot banks for the Mainland-Hong Kong "Cross-Border Payment Service." At the same time, BOC has promoted the use of RMB for local tax payments in multiple countries, further enriching the global application scenarios for RMB.

This is a network of deepening openness. BOC has long cultivated capital market interconnectivity. As a core market maker in the bond market, it was among the first to implement Bond Connect, Swap Connect and Repo Connect, helping continuously expand investment channels. As of end-May 2026, BOC's CIBM agency bond holdings for foreign institutions ranked first in the market for 49 consecutive months, its client count ranked first among Chinese banks, and it has served more than 180 QFII institutions entering China's capital market, making it the preferred bank for global investors allocating RMB assets.

From a settlement currency that is increasingly useful to an investment and financing currency that is increasingly attractive, the international use of the RMB is shifting from quantitative growth to qualitative improvement. As the main channel bank for cross-border RMB services, BOC will continue to provide professional, integrated and comprehensive cross-border RMB services under the theme of "broader coverage, higher quality and greater efficiency."

A New Journey: Writing a New Chapter of Financial Service to the Nation

The 15th Five-Year Plan outline calls for expanding high-standard opening-up and creating a new chapter of win-win cooperation. It urges advancing RMB internationalization, expanding RMB use in international trade and investment and financing, raising the level of capital account openness, building an independent and controllable RMB cross-border payment system, and developing RMB offshore markets.