Will the digital yuan become an international model?

While the geopolitical focus on China currently revolves around US-China tensions, semiconductors and Covid restrictions, China’s central bank has been silently pushing another project of potentially geopolitical significance. Since 2020, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has been conducting trials for a “Central Bank Digital Currency” (CBDC), experimenting with various e-CNY digital payment applications for restaurant, entertainment and public services. However, whether this centralized solution can aid China’s ambitions to influence international payment systems remains in question.