China’s State Council, the country’s cabinet, will discuss the use of offshore RMB stablecoins for trade settlement, according to a Reuters report. The topic will form part of broader discussions about expanding the use of the renminbi internationally. Given other developments, this may not be the first time the topic has been discussed.

For example, Christopher Hui, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, discussed the potential use of stablecoins as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in early June. It’s unlikely that this would involve HKD stablecoins. More likely they would deploy RMB stablecoins issued out of Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s stablecoin legislation came into force on 1 August, and it is expected to grant the first handful of stablecoin issuer licenses by early 2026.

The Secretary’s comments are likely to be part of a larger Chinese strategy, indicating the topic may already have been discussed at the highest level. This is reinforced by reports that Shanghai’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has instructed state enterprises to explore stablecoins and tokenization for trade. The municipal government of Wuxi has made similar statements.

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