China says new digital currency will be similar to Facebook’s Libra

Author: Agencies

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 WeChat and Alibaba-backed Alipay.

The state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News reported his comments on Friday.

China’s central bank set up a research team in 2014 to explore launching its own digital currency to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policymakers’ control of money supply.

It had said little since but Mu last month announced that the digital currency was almost ready. US financial magazine Forbes, citing sources, said the currency could be ready as soon as Nov. 11. Some analysts say China appears to have accelerated the push to digital money after US social media giant Facebook announced plans in June to launch digital coin Libra.

Share
Leave a Comment

Recent Posts

  • Editorial

Targeted Tragedy

By the time of writing this editorial on Thursday evening, the number of innocent passengers…

17 hours ago
  • Cartoons

TODAY’S CARTOON

17 hours ago
  • Editorial

Sour Sweeteners

Sugar. The sweetener word brings sour taste to one's mind when people come across the…

17 hours ago
  • Op-Ed

Trump’s Bureaucracy Cuts

The stunning results of the USA elections surprised both Democrats and Republicans alike. Trump's unprecedented…

17 hours ago
  • Op-Ed

Countering Misinformation

The advancement of technology around the world and the widespread spread of social media have…

17 hours ago
  • Op-Ed

“It’s the economy stupid!”

Pakistan's democratic system is in jeopardy. Civilians and the military have taken turns to rule…

17 hours ago