China launched a cross-border renminbi payments system yesterday, a big step in its drive to boost international use of the Chinese currency and protect itself from US spy agencies with access to the Swift system.

中国昨日启用人民币跨境支付系统，这是中国推动人民币国际化努力的一大步。该系统的另一个目的是使中国得以回避美国情报机构能够访问的环球银行金融电信协会(SWIFT)系统。

Chinese leaders want the renminbi to rival the US dollar as a global currency for trade and investment. The “redback” is now the fourth most-used currency for global payments but its share by value remains low — just 2.8 per cent in August, according to Swift.

中国领导人希望人民币成为贸易和投资的全球货币，叫板美元。如今人民币在全球支付中是第四大最常用货币，但其价值份额仍然较低，在8月份仅占2.8%（SWIFT数据）。

In addition to opening its domestic capital markets to foreign investment, authorities hope replacing the convoluted system for clearing and settling renminbi payments with a streamlined platform will promote greater use of the Chinese currency.

除了向外资开放国内资本市场外，中国政府希望取代清算和结算人民币支付交易的臃肿复杂的系统，采用一种有利于促进人民币使用的精简平台。

“As the cross-border renminbi settlement framework approaches completion, it will inevitably stimulate greater renminbi demand from market participants,” Ma Jun, People’s Bank of China chief economist, said last month.

“随着以上跨境金融基础设施的逐步到位和跨境人民币结算政策框架的日趋完善，必将激发市场主体更多的人民币需求，”中国央行(PBoC)首席经济学家马骏上月表示。

Currently renminbi payments to and from China are slow and costly to execute. China’s domestic payments system supports only Chinese characters, making it incompatible with Swift, the secure messaging system banks use to exchange payment details.

目前，进出中国的人民币支付速度慢，执行成本高。中国国内的支付系统只支持中文字符，使其与SWIFT不兼容；后者是银行用来交换付款细节的安全信息系统。

In mid-September the PBoC sent detailed instructions to 19 banks that will start implementing the new China International Payments System (CIPS) this month. The Chinese units of eight foreign banks, including

9月中旬，中国央行向19家银行发出详细指示，由它们从10月起实施新的人民币跨境支付系统(CIPS)。8家外资银行——包括汇丰(HSBC)、渣打(Standard Chartered)和花旗银行(Citibank)——的中国分行也在被选中的银行之列。

HSBC, Standard Chartered

“人民币跨境支付系统的建立是人民币国际化进程中一个重要的里程碑，为人民币跨境使用搭建了一个重要的基础设施，相当于通过一条‘支付高速公路’将全球人民币使用者联结起来，”汇丰大中华区行政总裁黄碧娟(Helen Wong)表示。

and Citibank,

专家们表示，除了解决互操作性问题外，中国也希望减少依赖总部位于比利时、在治理上由美欧银行主导的SWIFT系统。

were among those selected.

突显SWIFT对全球金融有多么关键的一个迹象是，俄罗斯总理德米特里•梅德韦杰夫(Dmitry Medvedev)今年1月警告称，欧盟因乌克兰冲突而提出的将俄罗斯排除在该系统以外的提议，将招致俄方的“超限”回应。“如果没有SWIFT，就没有银行业务……关系，”俄罗斯一名资深银行家当时表示。

“The establishment of CIPS is an important milestone in Rmb internationalisation, providing the infrastructure that will connect global Rmb users through one single system,” said Helen Wong, greater China chief executive at HSBC.

In addition to solving interoperability issues, experts say China also wants to reduce its reliance on Belgium-based Swift, whose governance is dominated by US and European banks.

间谍活动也是一大担忧。根据爱德华•斯诺登(Edward Snowden)泄露的美国国家安全局(NSA)文件，该局曾把SWIFT列为侦察目标，作为追踪国际支付的一种手段。

In a sign of how vital Swift has become to global finance, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned in January that an EU proposal to exclude Russia from the system over the conflict in Ukraine would elicit an “unlimited” response from Russia. “If there is no Swift, there is no banking . . . relationship,” said a top Russian banker at the time.

中国“想要促进跨境国际商业交易，但你不得不揣测这其中有没有另外一种考量，”华盛顿普衡律师事务所(Paul Hastings)全球银行业务主管杰拉尔德•科米佐奥(Gerard Comizio)表示。“他们现在依赖的支付系统非常容易被美国情报机构接入。”

Spying is also a concern. The US National Security Agency has targeted Swift as a means to track international payments, according to NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

多数跨境人民币支付是通过离岸人民币清算银行处理的，这些银行由中国央行指定，为香港、新加坡、伦敦等离岸人民币中心服务。作为中国大型银行的海外分行，这些清算银行可以利用内部渠道将境外人民币回笼到中国，并可从中国央行获得流动性。

China “wants to facilitate cross-border international business transactions, but you also have to wonder if there’s another angle here,” said Gerard Comizio, chair of global banking practice at law firm Paul Hastings in Washington. “They’re now relying on a payments system that is highly susceptible to being accessed by intelligence agencies from the US.”

Most cross-border renminbi payments are routed through offshore renminbi clearing banks that the PBoC has appointed to serve Hong Kong, Singapore, London and other offshore renminbi centres. As overseas affiliates of big Chinese lenders, the clearing banks can use internal channels to recycle offshore renminbi back into China and have access to liquidity from the PBoC.

这些清算银行至关重要，因为中国国内银行间清算和结算系统——中国现代化支付系统(CNAPS)不支持国际支付。

The clearing banks are crucial because China’s domestic interbank clearing and settlement system, the China National Advanced Payment System (CNAPS), does not support international payments.

“CIPS正试图成为SWIFT和CNAPS之间的中间人。这使得整个过程更加顺畅，因为目前SWIFT与CNAPS不能沟通，”为银行和商户安排跨境人民币支付的汇元通(Geoswift)的首席执行官瞿晓川(Raymond Qu)表示。

“CIPS is trying to be the middleman between Swift and CNAPS. That makes the process smoother because Swift cannot talk to CNAPS,” said Raymond Qu, chief executive of Geoswift, which facilitates cross-border renminbi payments for banks and merchants.