The Bank of China's Shanghai branch conducted the first-ever cross-border settlement for precious metals using the digital yuan central bank digital currency (e-CNY CBDC) on December 20.

The settlement involved a transfer of 100 million yuan ($14 million) e-CNY CBDC for gold through the Shanghai Financial Exchange International Board.

This move supports Shanghai's free trade pilot zone promotion strategy and the upgradation of the international trade center.

Bank of China Shanghai has been actively involved in e-CNY pilot testing and has also facilitated the import of iron ore to China using the digital yuan.

The bank is collaborating with foreign institutions like BNP Paribas for the development of the digital yuan CBDC.

China's President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of CBDCs in cross-border trade, leading to various foreign banks joining China's CBDC trials.

Singapore has announced that it will allow Chinese tourists to spend e-CNY during their trips, and China has signed a $400 million memorandum on CBDC cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.

The official e-CNY app was updated on December 19, introducing new features such as creating an e-CNY wallet using a phone number, disabling the wallet if the phone is lost, and allowing users to bind personal bank accounts and debit cards to purchase e-CNY in-wallet.