January 12, 2022
China's Digital Currency and Authoritarianism
China is the first major economy to develop and implement a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Its CBDC has many names: Digital Currency/Electronic Payment (DCEP), the digital yuan or renminbi, and electronic Chinese yuan (eCNY).
A new video explainer from CNAS explores how Beijing’s CBDC efforts will have critical ramifications for the Chinese Communist Party’s digital authoritarianism. As China is in a national blitz to digitize its entire economy, it is strengthening its hand for domestic social control while also influencing financial technology innovation in the global financial system.
To find out more about the ground truths of China’s CBDC, you can read the January 2021 CNAS report: China’s Digital Currency: Adding Financial Data to Digital Authoritarianism.
Learn More
China’s Digital Currency
China is pushing aggressively to be a global leader in financial technology....
China Is Making Smart Money
As a U.S. national security matter, China’s progress in the digital renminbi is more about China’s ambition to harness data than it is about advancing its currency....
The Promises and Perils of Central Bank Digital Currencies
Chairman Himes, Ranking Member Barr, the distinguished members of the subcommittee, and my fellow panelists, it is an honor to participate in today’s hearing. Please allow me ...
More from CNAS
-
Are the 301 Tariffs Really About Forced Labor? with Josh Kagan
Josh Kagan joins Emily and Geoff to give the big picture behind recent U.S. tariffs related to forced labor, as well as providing an insider’s view on the future of trade and ...
By Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz
-
Trump’s Replacement Tariffs Will Have Unintended Consequences for USMCA
Ultimately, this is a choice between two models of economic leadership. One relies on rules, predictability, and partnership. The other leans on discretion, leverage, and shor...
By Emily Kilcrease
-
U.S. Inflation Picks Up to 3 Year High, Eroding Paychecks
Chris Kennedy, Bloomberg Economics lead for economic statecraft and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, breaks down the state of negotiations betw...
By Chris Kennedy
-
Ziemba: U.S. Strategic Reserves Lowest in Over 40 Years
Oil prices rose after fresh US and Iranian strikes in the Gulf. President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for shooting down an American military helicopter off the coast of Oman. R...
By Rachel Ziemba