Experts note the growing popularity of the yuan on the global financial scene, based on data published by the Chinese authorities, bigasia.ru reports.

For the period from January to August of this year, the national currency of China occupied more than a quarter – 26.5% - of all cross-border payments in the country’s trade turnover. Moreover, this figure continues to grow steadily.

Economist Tian Lihui from Nankai University commented on the situation: “The international status and influence of the yuan are strengthening, providing Chinese companies with better tools for managing currency risks. For international investors, this opens up more options for asset allocation.”

The Chinese authorities have taken significant steps to attract foreign financial institutions. For foreign companies, restrictions on working with securities, funds and participation in banking activities have been completely lifted.

The results of the first half of the year are impressive: foreign banks opened 116 branches and 127 representative offices in China, with their total assets reaching $530 billion.

Foreign insurance companies are not far behind. During the same period, they served dozens of organizations in China, consolidating assets in the amount of $370 billion.