Digital yuan

On March 17, 2025, while many were distracted by narrative conflicts and polarizing elections, China made a strategic move that is transforming the global financial system: it activated its cross-border payments network using digital yuan.

Ten ASEAN countries and six Middle Eastern countries, accounting for 38% of global trade, will now conduct their international transactions without relying on the US dollar-dominated SWIFT system, ushering in the “digital yuan moment.”

This shift is part of a geopolitical strategy that has accelerated since the Trump administration. While the SWIFT system can take 3-5 days to process international payments, the Chinese digital bridge reduces that time to just 7 seconds.

In a test between Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, one company managed to transfer funds to a supplier in the Middle East without the need for six intermediary banks, achieving real-time receipt and 98% less in fees.

The Economist has called it “The Breakthrough Battle of the Bretton Woods System 2.0”. This breakthrough involves not only speed, but also power, as the digital yuan enables full traceability and automatic anti-money laundering enforcement.

With 23 central banks participating in tests of the Chinese digital bridge, this quiet revolution is redefining monetary sovereignty globally.