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Former China’s Central Banker: It is Possible for the RMB to Replace SWIFT

Zhou Xiaochuan, former head of China’s Central Bank, the People’s Bank, said that it is possible for the Renminbi (RMB) to replace the SWIFT system.

Zhou made such statement at Qinghua University’s 2022 Global Finance Forum on April 14. Zhou expressed that SWIFT is not a cross-border international payment system, but rather a communications organization. The RMB’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) is a payment, clearing, and settlement system.

Zhou stated that circumventing SWIFT is theoretically feasible. Trade is the foundation and in the worst case scenario, people can conduct trade by exchanging goods for goods (instead of using currency).

Source: Net Ease, April 17, 2022
https://www.163.com/money/article/H557RS8M002580S6.html