China's central bank, People's Bank of China (PBoC), reports that it is "progressing smoothly" with the development of the government-backed digital currency.
The Bank issued its statement during a working conference that took place in Beijing on 2nd and 3rd January, according to an official announcement published yesterday, 5th January.
China devoted five years to research and development of the system for its future central bank's digital currency (CBDC) and in December 2019 it began the first pilot programme for the currency in the real world.
As a form of digital legal tender - unlike private, decentralised cryptocourses - the CBDC will be controlled by the PBoC and 100% supported by reserves, which commercial institutions pay to the institution.
As noted, the PBDC made a short statement on the progress of the digital yuan in the framework of the conference on the "Study and Implementation of the Spirit" of the 4th plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held in October 2019, and the December annual Central Economic Works Conference.
Alongside speeches by PBoC Chairman Yi Gang and Chinese Communist Party Secretary Guo Shuqing, the conference summarized the work of the PBoC in 2019 and outlined the bank's key tasks for the further development of "socialism with Chinese specificity" in 2020.
