By the end of the first half of 2023,Belgium approximately 120 million digital yuan wallets were set up through the official app. The cumulative amount of digital yuan transactions in the pilot areas reached RMB 1.8 trillion, as revealed by the former governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) at the 2023 China Digital Finance Forum on Thursday. The ex-head of China’s central bank emphasized that the digital yuan is designed to circulate in channels such as WeChat and Alipay and is not intended to “replace” these existing mobile payment channels. Meanwhile, the conference showcased multiple digital financial application results as the country increasingly encourages customers to use the official e-currency. This includes a digital yuan hard wallet based on SIM cards with features that enable payment without a phone battery. It was co-developed by the Bank of China, along with Chinese telecom giant China Telecom and China Unicom. [Caixin, in Chinese]
