The financial sector in Pingtan, an island city off E China's Fujian province, has been significantly leveraging the Chinese Renminbi (RMB) for cross-border trade, marking a notable increase in settlements during the first half of this year. According to the People's Bank of China, Fujian Branch, Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone Business Management Department (hereinafter referred to as "PBC Fujian Pingtan BM"), the region facilitated a total of 501 million yuan in cross-border RMB trade settlements, surging by an astonishing 70.3% year-on-year. This growth rate exceeds the provincial average by a whopping 39.5 percentage points.

Since the beginning of the year, financial institutions in Pingtan have intensified their efforts to support the development of specialty industries, particularly in enhancing trade settlements for cross-Straits commerce and cross-border e-commerce. In cross-Straits trade, financial institutions have capitalized on platforms such as the Pingtan Taiwan-oriented Petty Commodity Trading Market, providing robust financial services for small-scale trade items, primarily food, fruits, and alcoholic beverages from Taiwan. As a result, cross-Straits trade settlements in RMB witnessed a 24% year-over-year increase.

Furthermore, in cross-border e-commerce, the PBC Fujian Pingtan BM has encouraged banking institutions to support key business segments like bonded procurement. This strategic move has fueled a stunning 184.2% growth in customs special supervision zones and bonded supervision sites' import and export logistics goods transactions.

"Numerous enterprises are opting for RMB in their cross-border trade settlements, effectively mitigating the impact of exchange rate fluctuations, reducing settlement costs, and enhancing transaction efficiency and security," said a senior representative from the PBC Fujian Pingtan BM. The department plans to continue its 'First-time User' expansion initiative, intensifying policy outreach to enterprises embarking on their initial forays into cross-border trade.