英语新闻丨人民币作为国际结算货币的地位日益提升

The renminbi is starting to gain ground in the dollar-dominated global commodity trade, as recent deals highlighted the Chinese currency's expanding role in offering a diversified option for pricing and settlement, economists and executives said.

经济学家和企业高管表示，人民币开始在美元主导的全球大宗商品贸易中崭露头角。近期的多笔交易凸显出，人民币在定价和结算方面为全球提供了多元化选择，其作用正不断扩大。

Breakthroughs in RMB-denominated commodity transactions, regarded as one of the most difficult frontiers for the RMB's global use, may signal a faster phase of the currency's internationalization, as demand rises for alternatives to the US dollar and China's role in global trade grows, they added.

他们补充说，以人民币计价的大宗商品交易一直被认为是人民币国际化最艰难的领域之一，如今取得的突破，可能预示着人民币国际化将进入更快发展阶段。这背后的原因，是全球对美元替代选项的需求上升，以及中国在全球贸易中的地位日益重要。

The RMB ranked the fifth in global payments with a share of 3.1 percent in March, up from a sixth ranking in February, as calculated by global financial messaging services provider Swift.

据环球银行金融电信协会（Swift）统计，今年3月，人民币在全球支付中的份额为3.1%，排名从2月的第六位升至第五位。

The Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS — the primary platform for cross-border yuan clearing and settlement — recently recorded a single-day transaction volume of 1.22 trillion yuan ($179 billion), a record high, according to Shanghai Securities News.

据《上海证券报》报道，人民币跨境清算结算的主要平台——人民币跨境支付系统（CIPS）近期单日交易量创下1.22万亿元人民币的历史新高。

Meanwhile, Reuters reported last month that Indian refiners were settling payments for specific oil cargoes purchased under a US sanctions waiver using the Chinese yuan, while mining giant BHP Group has reportedly adopted a Chinese pricing benchmark in its iron ore trade with China, signaling a broader acceptance of RMB settlement and pricing in commodity markets.

与此同时，路透社上月报道称，印度炼油商已开始使用人民币结算部分在美国制裁豁免下购买的石油货物。据报道，矿业巨头必和必拓集团也在与中国的铁矿石贸易中采用了中国的定价基准。这些动向都表明，人民币结算和计价在大宗商品市场正获得更广泛接受。

Zhang Bin, a national political adviser and a nonresident senior research fellow at the China Finance 40 Forum, said these developments suggest that the RMB is increasingly providing global trading partners with a more diversified currency option for commodity trade.

全国政协委员、中国金融四十人论坛非驻会高级研究员张斌表示，这些进展表明，人民币正日益为全球贸易伙伴在大宗商品贸易中提供更多元化的货币选择。

"The dollar has long served as a dominant currency for pricing, settlement and investment. However, intensified geopolitical tensions and changes in global economic governance have led some countries to reconsider the assumption that the dollar is reliable," Zhang said. "As countries seek to add an extra layer of safeguard in investment and business operations, the yuan is a particularly promising option, given China's significant and expanding role in global trade and investment."

"美元长期以来一直是定价、结算和投资的主导货币。然而，加剧的地缘政治紧张局势和全球经济治理的变化，让一些国家开始重新审视'美元是可靠的'这一假设。"张斌说，"随着各国寻求为投资和商业运营多添一重保障，鉴于中国在全球贸易和投资中的重要且日益扩大的角色，人民币是一个特别有前景的选项。"

Huang Yiping, dean of Peking University's National School of Development, highlighted the potential of the RMB in playing a bigger role in commodity pricing, as China is one of the world's largest importers of commodities and a leading exporter of manufactured goods.

北京大学国家发展研究院院长黄益平强调了人民币在大宗商品定价中发挥更大作用的潜力，因为中国既是世界最大的大宗商品进口国之一，也是主要的制成品出口国。

"Promoting the use of the RMB to price more of our economic activities is both possible and an indispensable step of RMB internationalization," Huang said.

黄益平说："推动更多经济活动用人民币定价，既具可能性，也是人民币国际化不可或缺的一步。"

China launched yuan-denominated crude oil futures trading in Shanghai in 2018, an early step toward expanding the RMB's role in global commodity pricing. In recent years, countries like Russia have increasingly used the Chinese currency in oil trade with China.

2018年，中国在上海启动了人民币计价的原油期货交易，这是扩大人民币在全球大宗商品定价中作用的早期一步。近年来，俄罗斯等国在与中国的石油贸易中越来越多地使用人民币。

"The fundamental conditions for the formation of a 'petroyuan' cycle — in which oil is increasingly priced, settled and reinvested in RMB assets — are gradually taking shape after China has become the world's largest crude oil importer," said Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

中国社会科学院世界经济与政治研究所副所长张明表示："随着中国成为全球最大的原油进口国，形成'石油人民币'循环——即石油的定价、结算和再投资均越来越多地使用人民币资产——的基础条件正在逐步具备。"

However, analysts cautioned that how far the Chinese currency's role in commodity trade can evolve may ultimately depend on the depth of China's financial reforms and opening-up, the country's long-term economic strength, and the resilience of the US dollar's dominance.

不过，分析人士也提醒，人民币在大宗商品贸易中的作用能走多远，最终可能取决于中国金融改革开放的深度、中国经济的长期实力，以及美元主导地位的韧性。

"Part of the recent increase in RMB usage in commodity trade has been driven by short-term geopolitical factors, and the longer-term trajectory still needs to be observed," said Shao Yu, chief economist at the innovation center of Fudan University's School of Management.

复旦大学管理学院科创中心首席经济学家邵宇表示："近期人民币在大宗商品贸易中使用量的增加，部分是受短期地缘政治因素驱动，长期趋势仍需观察。"

Wu Xiaoqiu, former vice-president of Renmin University of China, said the key still lies in deepening market-oriented reforms to enable freer trade of the currency if a petroyuan system is to be established.

中国人民大学原副校长吴晓求则表示，若要建立石油人民币体系，关键仍在于深化市场化改革，实现货币的更自由交易。

Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said China has worked to enhance institutional arrangements and financial infrastructure to support broader cross-border RMB usage to offer more diversified currency choices for all entities.

中国人民银行行长潘功胜表示，中国已致力于完善制度安排和金融基础设施，以支持更广泛的跨境人民币使用，为所有主体提供更多元化的货币选择。

The yuan's rising role in commodity trade is part of a broader expansion of the currency's international use, with a Deutsche Bank report saying that the process of RMB internationalization is likely to accelerate.

人民币在大宗商品贸易中角色的提升，是其国际使用范围更广泛扩展的一部分。德意志银行的一份报告称，人民币国际化的进程可能会加速。

Renminbi assets are becoming increasingly attractive, underpinned by China's strong growth prospects and the rapid development of future-oriented industries, said Stefan Hoops, CEO of DWS — Deutsche Bank's asset management arm.

德意志银行资产管理分支DWS的首席执行官斯蒂凡·霍普斯表示，在中国强劲的增长前景和未来产业的快速发展支撑下，人民币资产正变得越发具有吸引力。

Hoops pointed to a structural shift in trade invoicing: Whereas the vast majority of Chinese exporter invoices were denominated in US dollars five years ago, a growing share are now denominated in RMB.

霍普斯指出了贸易计价方面的结构性转变：五年前，中国出口商的发票绝大多数以美元计价，而现在，以人民币计价的占比正在增长。

pricing and settlement /ˈpraɪsɪŋ ænd ˈsetlmənt/定价和结算

commodity transaction /kəˈmɒdəti trænˈzækʃən/大宗商品交易

sanctions waiver /ˈsæŋkʃənz ˈweɪvər/制裁豁免

underpin /ˌʌndərˈpɪn/支撑；巩固

trade invoicing /treɪd ˈɪnvɔɪsɪŋ/贸易计价；贸易开票