(Yicai) May 30 -- Shanghai's cross-border yuan settlement expanded to nearly CNY30 trillion (USD4.17 trillion) last year, making up almost half of the national total and underscoring the eastern city’s growing significance as a global financial hub.

With the support of various policies, Shanghai’s financial infrastructure handled 47 percent of all international payments and settlements conducted in yuan in China, Li Kexin, deputy director of the General Office of the People's Bank of China, said at a press conference today.

Li noted that a series of policy measures in key areas has yielded positive results. For instance, the central bank has accelerated the development of Shanghai’s pilot financial reform zone focused on scientific and technological innovation. It has worked to improve standardization systems, test environmental information disclosure practices for small and medium-sized enterprises, expand tools to reduce carbon emissions -- especially for companies undergoing green transitions -- and actively engage in international cooperation on green finance.

In addition, the PBOC has supported the standardized development of offshore bond business within the free trade zone and backed the Shanghai Clearing House’s expansion of the Yulan bond program.

Named after the Yulan Magnolia, Shanghai’s city flower, Yulan bonds are yuan-denominated notes issued in China by foreign institutions, typically within the domestic bond market. The initiative is a collaboration between the Shanghai Clearing House and Euroclear Bank, a central securities depository headquartered in Belgium.

Looking ahead, the PBOC will continue supporting the effort to build Shanghai into a world-class financial center by further enhancing its competitiveness and international influence, Li added.

Reinsurance and Lujiazui Forum

Shanghai is also positioning itself as a global hub for reinsurance -- a sector where insurance companies transfer portions of their risk portfolios to other insurers to reduce exposure to large losses.

As of April 30, the Shanghai International Reinsurance Registration and Trading Center, launched late last year, had registered 99 institutions with a share of premiums totaling nearly CNY1.6 billion (USD220 million), according to Wang Xinze, deputy director of the municipal financial regulator. The platform has logged over four million transactions with total premiums exceeding CNY120 billion (USD16.6 billion).

At the same meeting, Zhou Xiaoquan, executive deputy director of the municipal financial services office, announced that the 2025 Lujiazui Forum will be held from June 18 to 19. Several major policy updates are expected to be unveiled at the annual conference.

Editor: Emmi Laine