Confidence increases in global use of yuan

Expectations of China further opening up its financial sector this year have boosted bankers' and experts' confidence in a broader use of the renminbi in global trade, investment and foreign reserves, as well as bets placed on a more flexibly floating exchange rate.

A survey done by the Bank of China published on Wednesday indicated that last year, 76 percent of respondents from 3,134 overseas enterprises and 118 financial institutions in 25 countries and regions believed that the yuan will play a role as important as other major international currencies, including the US dollar, British pound, euro and Japanese yen.

That proportion increased from 72 percent from the annual survey in 2016, reflecting strengthened confidence in the yuan's global usage, said the bank.