Illustration: Tang Tengfei/GT
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on Wednesday that it will add the yuan as one of the settlement currencies available to airlines and other suppliers through the IATA Clearing House (ICH), another solid step in the currency’s internationalization.
As part of IATA’s industry-wide settlement system, the ICH provides settlement services to 581 airlines and other associated companies in the air transport value chain, processing $63.8 billion in 2024. For China’s air transport industry, direct yuan settlement will accelerate the process and reduce exchange risks.
More importantly, the aviation industry stands as one of the most globally integrated sectors, making the ICH’s decision to add yuan settlement particularly meaningful. It serves as clear evidence of the currency’s growing acceptance in key international industries.
This breakthrough is not an isolated event, but rather a reflection of the consistent progress of the yuan’s internationalization, a journey defined by steady and pragmatic advancement.
From enhancing cross-border yuan services to support the real economy to deepening the high-standard opening-up of financial markets, and from supporting the development of offshore yuan markets to expanding the global yuan-clearing service network, China has continuously fostered a more favorable policy environment for domestic and foreign entities to hold and use the yuan.
Consequently, the role of the currency in the international monetary system has been steadily enhanced in areas including cross-border payments, investment and financing, and reserve allocation.
This steady and prudent approach has yielded tangible results. In 2024, cross-border yuan settlements by banks on behalf of their customers stood at 64.1 trillion yuan ($9 trillion), up 22.6 percent year-on-year. In the first half of 2025, the growth momentum continued with a total of 34.9 trillion yuan, up 14 percent year-on-year, according to a report by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, on October 30.
Notably, the yuan has become one of the world’s top three currencies for trade financing and global payments, and it ranks third in weighting within the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights currency basket.
The growing international trust in the yuan is underpinned by multiple factors, starting with China’s steady economic growth. As China’s share in global GDP and trade continues to expand, central banks and international investors worldwide are increasingly enthusiastic about allocating yuan-denominated assets, recognizing their value as a stable addition to portfolios.
The continuous deepening of reform and opening-up in China’s financial market has laid a solid foundation for this process. In recent years, China has made remarkable progress in relaxing capital account controls and improving its financial infrastructure.
The establishment and expansion of investment channels such as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Bond Connect have simplified access for international investors to yuan assets, while the inclusion of Chinese bonds in major global indices reflects the international market’s growing recognition of their quality. These improvements have transformed the yuan from a tool for trade settlements into a functional currency with substantial investment value, broadening its appeal.
China’s strengthened economic and trade cooperation with emerging markets has fueled steady demand for yuan settlement. Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, for example, economic and trade exchanges between China and participating countries have become increasingly frequent, prompting more and more trading partners to voluntarily adopt the yuan as a means of payment to streamline transactions.
From the perspective of the external environment, growing uncertainties surrounding the current monetary system and global financial markets have led many countries to pursue diversified settlement solutions. With China’s massive economic scale, complete industrial system, and increasingly open financial market, the yuan has naturally emerged as an important option in this global pursuit of monetary diversification.
The steady advance of the yuan’s internationalization is an outcome of the growing strength of China’s economy and the deepening of its opening-up. This path will continue to extend alongside the transformation and upgrading of the Chinese economy and the improvement of its financial system. As the yuan is poised to play an increasingly important role in the international monetary landscape, it will contribute to a more balanced, diverse, and stable international monetary system.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/1107/c90000-20387659.html