SHANGHAI: China’s proposed new digital currency would bear some similarities to Facebook’s Libra coin and would be able to be used across major payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, a senior central bank officer said. Mu Changchun, deputy director of the People’s Bank of China’s payments department, said the development of the coin would help protect country’s foreign exchange sovereignty as commercial applications of such currencies expanded. “Why is the central bank still doing such a digital currency today when electronic payment methods are so developed?” said Mu, according to a transcript of a lecture he gave this week that was published online. “It is to protect our monetary sovereignty and legal currency status. We need to plan ahead for a rainy day.” He said the tokens would be as safe as central bank-issued paper notes and could be used even without an internet connection. They could also be used on Tencent’s (0700.HK) WeChat and Alibaba-backed (BABA.N) Alipay. The state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News reported his comments on Friday.