Digital renminbi trials are further accelerating, with the Hunan province capital of Changsha launching its own demonstration zone for the new central bank currency.
Changsha recently commenced work on the “3-1 Science City” (三一科学城) Digital Renminbi Special Demonstration Zone – the first undertaking of its type in the Hunan province capital.
The 3-1 Science City is an “industrial innovation upgrade zone” under the joint development of the Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone and 3-1 Group, with an especial focus on the Belt and Road initiative, and the “Three Highs and Four News” strategy.
Key features of the 3-1 Science City will include restaurant facilities and shops that permit use of the digital renminbi, as well as efforts to develop a “digital renminbi financial ecosystem and digital economy major circulation.”
Changsha is part of the second group of cities in China to launch digital renminbi trials, and as of the end of September was host to over 100,000 vendors that support digital renminbi payments, as well as more than 8 million individual and public digital renminbi wallets. Digital renminbi transactions had exceeded 4 billion yuan in total.
Multiple banks in Changsha have also undertaken digital renminbi promotional activities to attract customers to open digital renminbi wallets, including the “Popularise the Digital Renminbi” (普及数字人民币) campaign launched by Bank of Changsha.
