(rejected) Beijing All Geared Up to Establish a 'Legal Digital Currency Pilot Zone'

In preparation for its much-anticipated transition into a complete era of the digital economy, Beijing is set to establish a ‘Legal Digital Currency Pilot Zone’ which it said will be a part of its Beijing Pilot Free Trade Zone. Per the report from the Xinhua News Agency as sourced from Beijing news, the Legal digital currency pilot zone will help facilitate the Trade Zone’s financial infrastructure which will in the future cascade to other sectors of the economy. It hopes to do this following four core fundamentals.

The Legal Digital Currency Pilot Zone will be used first in facilitating cross border payments to serve Beijing digital trade and the zones funding needs. Secondly, it will also aid financial institutions in building internationally innovative businesses in the Pilot Free Trade Zone. This according to the report involve supporting foreign banks to obtain securities investment fund custody qualifications and cross-border bond issuance amongst others

The Digital Currency zone will also aid in the smooth transitioning of future technological innovations while also facilitating the effective prevention and control of financial risks.

Beijing Aims to Leave No Stone Unturned in its DCEP Drive

The creation of the Legal Digital Currency Pilot Zone is one of the many preparations the Chinese government is putting in place ahead of the launch of the DCEP project which will power the forthcoming digital economy.

Beijing as a city has been very pivotal in the entire DCEP masterplan. Besides the Beijing Free Trade Zone, the Chinese government issued the Beijing Action Plan, a masterplan to help nurture and integrate emerging technologies into the country’s economy.

The DCEP project has entered its testing phase with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) limiting the testing to small-scale transactions for now. With no clear date slated for the official launch of the CBDC, the traction the project has gained suggests China and the PBOC are leaving no stone unturned.