The total holdings of onshore renminbi (RMB) bonds by foreign investors have exceeded 640 billion U.S. dollars, staying at a historically high level, according to the Administration of Foreign Exchange in Beijing on Tuesday.
At a press conference, Li Hongyan, deputy head of the administration, stated that China's financial market has made steady progress in opening up, with lavish attention given to foreign investment in China.
"Foreign investment in RMB assets has recently maintained a sound momentum overall. The overall yield rate of RMB bonds has remained robust this year, attracting increased allocation from foreign investors. So far, the total holdings of onshore RMB bonds by foreign investors have exceeded 640 billion U.S. dollars, staying at a high level. In terms of the structure of existing holdings, conservative investors such as central and commercial banks from abroad are the primary holders," Li said.
"Moreover, driven by the uptrend in the domestic stock market, net foreign purchases of domestic stocks have increased overall since late September, further strengthening the willingness of foreign investors to allocate RMB assets," she said.
Meanwhile, the proportion of RMB used in cross-border transactions worldwide is steadily increasing, enhancing its international influence and making it a critical option for global investors seeking diversified asset allocation, according to the official.
Foreign holdings of Chinese bonds stay at high level: official
A former Peruvian congressman said the recent meeting between the leaders of China and the United States in Peru holds great significance for countries around the world, expressing hope that relations between the two sides would be empowered.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden met in Peru during their attendance to the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima.
Guillermo Aliaga, legal expert and former Peruvian congressman, stressed that the meeting has global implications.
"I think that all the meetings that have been taking place here in Peru because of the APEC (summit) have been really important for both big countries. We don't have usually these kind of spaces where both leaders can have meetings and conversations in front of each other. They can talk about multiple things, including, of course, the security around the world. So I think it is really important," he said.
"If we don't have the appearance of both presidents, we might have some problems in order to take actual decisions. From the Peruvian point of view, we think that the presence of the president of China has been really important, especially to do with the new opening of the megaport that we have in Chancay that will have the new route to go to Shanghai," he said.
The Chancay Port, a project on under the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, opened on November 14 and is set to enhance trade efficiency between South America and Asia, cutting shipping time to China to 23 days and reducing logistics costs by at least 20 percent.
According to Aliaga, the APEC meetings helped spotlight China's investments in the port and other projects in the eyes of U.S. leadership.
"At the same time, the United States has seen that China is investing right now in South America, especially in Peru. So they can talk between each other in order to see what kind of economic relations can be built or improved (between) both countries. Both countries are the biggest ones right now in the economy of the world. The forum of APEC is really important for not only these two countries and their citizens, it is really important also for the citizens around the world. I think that the relations between the two countries need to be empowered," he said.
Former Peruvian congressman hopes for empowered US-China relations
