The currency of China is the Chinese Yuan. Currency RMB – Chinese people's money

The yuan, following the Chinese economy, is increasingly noticeably increasing its importance in the world. Let's see what factors determine the global prospects for the Chinese currency.

Correct currency name

Yuan is what Chinese money is called in the world. This name, however, does not quite correspond to the sound of the national currency in the PRC itself. At home, Chinese banknotes are called nothing more than “renminbi” (translated as “people’s money”). And the yuan is just a noun, meaning money in principle. But the brevity and sweetness of this Chinese word turned out to be to the taste of the rest, especially the Western, world.

In ISO standards, the official currency designation is CNY. One yuan (“renminbi”) is equal to one hundred fen (their name is the same within the PRC and in the rest of the world). In turn, “kopecks” can be combined into jiao - ten times the equivalent (like “dimes” in the USA). So, Chinese money is classified as follows: 1 yuan is equal to 10 jiao, which is identical to 10 fen. However, in practice, it is difficult to find a “kopeck” in Chinese stores, since they have been withdrawn from circulation. Most common cash coins in one or five jiao. Also in the “metal” there are single yuan.

History of the Yuan

Story money circulation in China dates back several thousand years. Hieroglyphs denoting the words “product”, “purchase”, “sale”, “exchange” and associated with them in meaning are found in sources reflecting times of ancient times. The first money in our usual understanding appeared in the state in the 5th century BC. e. First in the form of bronze ingots (or in the form of simple household items - a shovel, a knife), then they appeared

During the period corresponding to the European Middle Ages, money, along with copper samples, was supplemented with iron and lead formats, and paper bills also came into circulation. Over time, Chinese money underwent “silver” standardization, and at the beginning of the twentieth century - “gold” standardization. When the communists came to power, the People's Bank of China was created. All the money that the population had in circulation was subject to confiscation and exchange for renminbi - new Chinese money, those very “people's banknotes”. The issue of the new currency became strictly controlled by the state.

Exchange rate policy

Until 1974, the Chinese yuan was usually traded against the pound sterling, but then quotes began to be applied to the US dollar. In 1994, the government of the country initiated a freeze of the yuan exchange rate to the American banknote in the ratio of 8.27 renminbi to 1 “buck,” which lasted 11 years. This caused dissatisfaction among some of China's trading partners, including the United States. The Chinese authorities began to come under pressure to liberalize foreign exchange policy, as, according to representatives of other countries, due to the low exchange rate of the yuan, China was gaining an advantage at the expense of purchasing power. This state of affairs was partly confirmed by figures: the negative relationship between the United States and China in 2004 exceeded $160 billion, and in 2005 its increase continued. But in the same year, the Chinese government canceled the “freeze” of the exchange rate. True, as some experts note, from that moment the yuan was still not released into free swimming, and its rate could be artificially low.

Yuan and ruble

Close economic cooperation between Russia and China is becoming more and more impressive every year. Chinese money, its name and pronunciation features are not new to the Russian Federation. Moscow and Beijing will organize working together by many global directions, therefore interaction in the field of currency regulation plays important role in trade cooperation between the two countries. Now the ruble and Chinese money are hypothetically competing for inclusion in the list of reserve currencies, but so far this has not happened in practice.

IN last years a trend has emerged - mutual settlements are not in dollars or pounds, but in national banknotes. In 2010, the ruble began to be traded on the yuan, and, in turn, on the MICEX and RTS platforms. National regulators have different principles for influencing trading. The Central Bank of China has a strict limit on fluctuations in the yuan exchange rate on the stock exchange within 0.5%. The Bank of Russia, as a rule, influences trading using the yuan is of growing interest among traders, thematic portals are appearing where you can quickly transfer Chinese money to Russian at the current rate.

Prospects for investing in yuan

Many experts believe that the yuan is undervalued in relation to world currencies, so it makes sense to invest in Chinese banknotes with the expectation that they will rise in price in the foreseeable future. As the practice of currency trading shows, if the yuan is growing, it is not as fast as investors would like. For example, in relation to the ruble, experts say, the renminbi in Lately showed an average annual growth of about 8%.

A regular bank deposit can bring approximately the same benefits. Financiers recommend investing in the yuan only in certain cases. Firstly, this is advisable for regular trips to China. Secondly, the yuan can be considered as a “reserve” currency for diversifying your investment portfolio. Thirdly, the terms of Russian banks may well be of interest to the Chinese themselves, who come to Russia for tourism or business.

Yuan and dollar

The relationship between the yuan and the main world currency obviously depends on how things will develop in the friendship between the countries issuing this money. One of the factors is that China stores the bulk of its financial reserves in dollars. Much depends on whether the Chinese will continue to hold foreign exchange reserves within the existing structure or prefer to diversify their portfolio. The head of the Central Bank of China voiced this idea at official level- that the country’s reserves cannot consist only of US dollars. There have been reports in the press that China is going to sell about 2 trillion “bucks” out of the available 3.04 trillion in favor of transferring them to other assets not related to the American “green”. Some experts believe that the Chinese authorities are just trying to negotiate preferential terms for the yuan and turn Chinese money into a reserve currency on a par with the dollar.

Yuan as a world currency

The Chinese government's intentions to make the yuan one of the world's leading currencies, experts believe, may have fundamental grounds. Some financial analysts expect that in the next few years the share of China's foreign trade settlements with other countries in yuan may exceed 30%. The evolution of this figure is impressive: it is now close to 20%, while four years ago it was 3%.

In the first months of 2014, the renminbi, according to financiers, took 7th place in the list of the most popular currencies in the world, overtaking, in particular, The investment importance of the yuan is growing as China becomes more open to world markets. Recently, a joint project with the People's Republic of China appeared in London - a settlement center for organizing work with the yuan. Experts expect that Chinese money will become a prominent currency at the global level, but it is not at all certain that it will replace the dollar.

Yuan outside China

The PRC currency is beginning to be increasingly used in trading stocks, bonds and other financial instruments. This direction will develop more intensively the sooner the yuan can become a convertible currency. Renminbi is being developed in other “Chinese” countries: Hong Kong (where the share of deposits in Chinese currency reached 12%, while in 2008 it was only 1%), Taiwan, Singapore. The latter two countries have offshore RMB trading centers. Recently, the People's Bank of China and the Central Bank of Germany entered into an agreement on settlements in Chinese currency.

Political significance of the yuan

The PRC is recognized by many experts as the main engine of the world economy. Now China produces, depending on the basis of calculation, 10-15% of the planet's GDP. Extension economic influence China, and hence the influence on political processes, directly depends on the government's monetary policy. Financiers believe that the prospects this direction depend on three factors.

• Firstly, this is internationalization - the use of currency as an instrument for expressing value and conducting settlements in international financial transactions.
• Secondly, this is convertibility - the degree to which capital flows and outflows are limited.
• Thirdly, it is used by foreign banks as a reserve currency.

The prospects for the yuan as an instrument of political influence depend on how the Chinese government combines priorities in these areas.

In China, a country whose residents were among the first in the world to use banknotes, a single currency in its modern form appeared only in 1948. It was then that the People's Bank of China was established, which received the exclusive right to issue money.

CNY(元) - (translated as "round coin" or "circle") is the official currency of China. And within the country itself it is called not the yuan, but renminbi (from the word Renminbi - people's money). Letter currency code - CNY, digital code- 156, symbolic sign – ¥. Change coins: jiao, which are divided into fen. One yuan is equal to 10 jiao (角) or 100 fen (分)

A little history

The yuan was first issued as silver coins in 1835, but until the creation of the People's Bank of China in 1948, China did not have a single national currency, and the means of payment were:

• liang, which was equal to 10 mao or 100 fins;
• gold bars for large payments;
• V rural areas small coins - qiani and cache;
• a huge amount of money from other countries was in circulation within the country;
• each province issued its own banknotes and coins;
• from 1938 to 1943, due to the occupation of part of the territory by Japanese troops, Japanese military yens were in circulation.

The United States often accuses the Chinese of undervaluing the national currency, which is why they enjoy significant advantages in foreign trade. Global trade networks and manufacturing enterprises Direct settlements with Chinese suppliers and manufacturers in yuan are much cheaper than in terms of the dollar.

And in terms of investment, the Chinese economy is considered one of the most interesting. So, in a couple of decades, this country overtook Japan in terms of gross domestic product, coming into second place after the United States. Moreover, not a single economist in the world has information about the exact monetary value of China’s GDP.

There is an opinion that the Chinese currency is undervalued by approximately two times, since the real and official exchange rates have a significant spread: the overall figures have a discrepancy of more than 10 trillion. dollars. If the Chinese leadership nevertheless decides to liberalize the country's economy, in particular exchange rates, an excellent prospect will open up for tremendous growth in profits.

Chinese money exchange rate

The cost of the first people's money", issued centrally by the People's Bank of China, was equated to gold, 1 yuan was equal to 0.22217 grams of pure gold. The final replacement of the currency occurred in 1952, and in Tibet in 1959.

So in one year, 1948, the price of the currency increased fivefold; at the beginning of the year, 1 yuan was equal to 4 US dollars, and by the end of the year it was 20 US dollars.

Since 1994, the exchange rate of Chinese money has been pegged to the dollar and amounted to 8.27 yuan per dollar. Since 2005, the Chinese have abandoned the peg of their currency to the dollar, and its exchange rate has increased by 2%. As of October 25, 2016, one yuan is equal to:

• 9.19 Russian rubles;
• $0.15;

As can be seen in the graph provided by the Yandex quote service, compiled based on data Central Bank In Russia, the dynamics of the yuan exchange rate against the ruble tended to increase from 2012 to 2015, then there was a decline and then a rise again; today (October 2016) the ruble is strengthening its position against the Chinese currency.

In July 2016, the Central Bank of Russia included Chinese money among its reserve currencies, and since October 1, 2016, the yuan has been included in the basket of reserve currencies of the International currency board(IMF). Whether it’s a coincidence or a pattern, this happened on the day when the people of the Middle Kingdom celebrate the anniversary of the People’s Bank of China.

Banknotes and coins in circulation

There are banknotes in circulation (shown in the pictures below, view from the front and reverse side) dignity:

¥100 (on 2005 release pictures)

¥50

¥20

¥10

¥5

¥2 (very rare banknote, pictured from 1990)

¥1 (picture from 2001)

Coins in circulation: 1,2,5 fen, 1 and 5 jiao, 1 yuan.

On banknotes issued in 2005 there is an image of the state and political leader of China, Mao Zedong, and, depending on the denomination, there is an image of flowers: lotus, chrysanthemum, rose, narcissus, orchid. On the reverse side are landscapes of the Chinese People's Republic. Banknotes from the 70s, 80s and 90s are also in use.

All banknotes have inscriptions in four languages ​​- Mongolian, Tibetan, Zhuang, Uyghur - official languages, which operate in the provinces of China.

National currency is a system of monetary units that are issued by the central bank of a country and used for settlements within it. Naturally, each state has its own. In Russia it is the ruble, in Great Britain it is the pound sterling, and in China it is the yuan.

The history of the yuan

The history of the name of Chinese currency is very interesting. During the Qing Dynasty, this was the name given to gold coins. Literally translated from Chinese, it is a round coin (a round object).

The first mention of it dates back 4,500 thousand years ago, and in 1024, instead of copper money, paper bills began to be issued. Later, all old banknotes were replaced with new paper money.

From 1835 to 1933, China's currency was called the "liang". It looked like a silver round coin. And only in 1948 the National Bank was created. By his decision, all funds in circulation were unified and a single monetary unit appeared. But the name for it arose only in 1960.

In addition to the name yuan, the national currency of China is called “renminbi” - people's money. A official name Chinese money in the West - renminbi. Control over it, its course and development is controlled by the Central Bank - People's Bank of China (PBoC).

Initially, the sign “¥” was used to indicate the Japanese Yen, but recently the Chinese have also begun to use it instead of the traditional “Ұ”. This leads to confusion about currencies. For example, if 100¥ is written, then it is possible to understand whether this is the national currency of China or Japan only in connection with the context.

Zhenminbi and yuan. Banknote denominations

It cannot be said that these two concepts mean the same thing. Since the first word in the translation sounds like “people’s money,” it is impossible to say that, for example, matches cost 5 people’s money. But saying 5 round objects (round coins) will be correct.

The spelling of the name of Chinese money is also different: in official documents– RNB (renminbi), and in banks and exchange offices the designation CNY is used.

Yuan consists of 10 Yao (Jiao, Mao), Yao - from 10 fen. Fen is practically not found in everyday life at present. Paper bills have the following denominations: 1,5,10,20,50, 100 yuan. The largest of them is equivalent to approximately 500 rubles. In addition, 1 yuan is issued in the form of a coin.

Since 1948, 5 episodes have been released paper bills. The last of them, the fifth, in 1999. Banknotes of the fourth series are still accepted for payment in China, but are gradually being withdrawn from circulation. The latest series' paper money has several differences from previous series. Their obverse is the same, regardless of the denomination - Mao Zedong is depicted everywhere. And the picture on the reverse of bills with different denominations is different.

• 1 – landscape of Lake Xihu
• 5 – Mount Taishan
• 10 – Landscape of the Three Gorges Valley
• 20 – Guilin depicted
• 50 – palace in Lhasa
• 100th Hall of the People

Moreover, what’s interesting is that it’s easy to distinguish a real bill from a fake. To do this, just run your fingertip over the image of Mao Zedong's hair. On a real banknote this place will be in relief.

In addition, the Central Bank of China has developed 11 degrees of protection for the largest banknote.

Dollar and currency basket

Initially, immediately after its creation, the yuan was directly linked to the dollar. Only in 2005 did the People's Bank of China abandon its link to it and began to focus on the currency basket. In addition to the dollar, it is dominated by the Euro, Yen and Won (currency South Korea). In second place in importance are the British pound sterling, the Thai baht, our ruble, the Australian, Canadian and Singapore dollars.

Thanks to this measure, the national currency of China is strengthening, and its exchange rate is increasing by about 7% every year. Despite this, the national currency of this country does not seek to absorb all others on the world market. And experts continue to experiment on it within the country. For example, in Hong Kong a different yuan is used. Unlike the generally accepted one, it is abbreviated CNH rather than CNY.

Sometimes, to attract cheap foreign yuan into the economy, CNH is allowed to turn into CNY at the request of Chinese state corporations. Presumably, the rules of interbank regulation and foreign exchange processes for the circulation of ordinary yuan abroad are being worked out on the CNH-yuan.

Against the backdrop of recent events in the global economy, jumps in the exchange rate of the ruble, euro and dollar, the national money of the PRC is only strengthening. This is due to the decision of the Chinese government, which refused to take part in the “international devaluation race.”

It is also worth noting that on December 29 last year, the united currency of Russia and China was introduced to the foreign exchange markets for the first time. This synthetic currency is backed by “gold reserves” on the one hand, and by resources on the Russian side. If these countries switch to yuan payments on a large scale, it will mean that the dollar's influence in the global economy will be noticeably less.

Tourist information

When visiting this country for the first time, you can exchange money for yuan at official banks, which are open from Monday to Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays, as well as in some hotels and shops. They exchange currency seven days a week. If there is any unspent money left before leaving the country, it can also be exchanged for cash in the desired currency by presenting a foreign currency exchange certificate valid for 6 months. Therefore, you should not throw away checks from exchange offices.

Thus, having briefly examined the history of the origin of the national currency of the People's Republic of China, we can trace all stages of its development and gradual strengthening. Therefore, it is likely that China’s currency may soon become an alternative to the dollar. After all, this country is the second largest gold reserve in the world.

One thing is for sure, today you can go on vacation to this country completely freely, without worrying about the events taking place in the global economy and politics. China has too long a history to allow itself to lose ground. By the way, it is safer to store your savings not in dollars, but in yuan.

Gold and foreign exchange metals have been highly valued in all centuries in any country. Paper money, unlike precious metals have no value. They are only a measure of the cost of goods and services and a convenient means of circulation or payment. And no matter how much money was printed or minted in the world, they were and remain tied to gold, silver or platinum. But let us turn to the history of Chinese monetary circulation.

Ancient money in the Middle Kingdom

The first money in China appeared in the 3rd century BC. e. They were shaped like cowrie shells and were made of stone, bones, clay or bronze.

From the second half of the 5th century BC. The Chinese learned the technique of casting. From this period, coins-plates began to be cast from bronze in the form various items ― musical instruments, rings of bells, hoes, knives, shovels and other tools Agriculture. They were in use until 221 BC.

Round coins appeared in 260 BC. under the ruler of the kingdom of Qin. They had small square holes in the center for stringing. The first emperor of the kingdom, Qin Shi Huang, abolished all other types of money. This coin design continued until the 20th century.

Coins were often made with an additional 4 holes along the edges for attaching to clothing, gates or doors - for good luck.

When China's economy began to boom, rich merchants found it difficult to wear such necklaces. Then they came up with wooden planks - banknotes. The number of coins was depicted on the mulberry bark tablets.

History of Chinese paper money

The first banknotes in China appeared in 910, and with the advent of the Northern Song Dynasty in 960 they were introduced into general circulation. However, walking paper money limited in scope and duration. When the validity period passed, and the bill was still paid for, they gave a smaller amount for it than the face value.

Perpetual paper money began to be printed only in 1280, during the Yuan dynasty. They have since become the main form of currency in China.

During the period from 1279 to 1368, a single national currency was not backed by silver or gold. Only in 1643 did silver begin to be used as currency, but not in the form of coins, but in the form of ingots weighing about 36 g. They were called lyans.

Finally, in 1835, silver yuan began to be issued. At the same time, the liang also remained in circulation. In the same year, the country held currency reform, and silver yuan were withdrawn from circulation, replaced by paper bills pegged to gold.

The economic growth that China has been experiencing recently is almost unprecedented. If not so long ago the quality of the vast majority Chinese goods was considered mediocre at best, then in just a few ten years Chinese products managed to rise to a completely new level. If things continue to improve for Chinese manufacturers, we will soon witness a real economic miracle, the main role in which it will belong to the Celestial Empire. Given this state of affairs, the country's official currency - the Chinese yuan - may soon significantly displace such pillars of the world economy as the American dollar, euro and Japanese yen.

History of Chinese currency

China is a mystery country, to which many foreigners, researchers and travelers have tried (and are still trying) to find the answer. The fascinating history and rich culture of the Celestial Empire, like a magnet, attracts the eyes of the whole world. And recently, when the country's economy has achieved amazing prosperity, special attention began to deserve money from China.

As in most countries that were founded many centuries ago, the history of the local currency here goes back decades. Already four and a half thousand years ago, the first form was used in China Money. And these are only the first officially registered mentions that are found in historical and cultural sources - it is quite possible that monetary units in China appeared even earlier.

Initially, bronze figures that looked like a knife acted as money. But, as often happened in other countries, such a bulky form of money was supplanted by a lighter and smaller one. So, around 210 BC, small copper disks with a square hole in the center appeared in circulation. They were introduced by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, whose merits, in addition to popularizing new form money, one can include reforms to strengthen the unity of the Celestial Empire.

The first paper money appeared not just anywhere, but in China. This is not surprising: after all, it is the Chinese who hold the palm in the production of this material - the first paper appeared in China two thousand years ago. Money in its paper form appeared here in the 8th century. This moment can be considered fundamental for the entire world economy, because it is from this time that the use of paper money begins. Before banknotes began to be printed in China, so-called “flying money”—that is, simply bills—became common here.

Paper money did not immediately supplant their metal counterparts - at first they were used along with coins. But in Sichuan province there was a shortage of copper reserves, and it was decided to start mass release paper bills. The use of precious metals as payment was prohibited - from now on even taxes had to be paid in paper money. The triumph of the new currency did not last so long, as the Chinese, to celebrate, began to issue too many a large number of paper money, which would inevitably lead to inflation. This is what happened.

Silver returned to circulation in 1643. At this time, in Guangdong province, they began to produce liang - silver bars, the weight of which was 35 grams, and the denomination was estimated at 10 mao or 100 fen. To carry out more expensive monetary transactions, iambs were used - silver bars, Weight Limit which amounted to 50 liang. The first yuan were also made from silver - this happened in 1835. Then the yuan came into use in the form of coins.

The ceremonial return of paper money and the abandonment of metal fell in 1933. At this time, it was decided to tie the Chinese currency not to silver, as was previously the case, but to gold.

December 1, 1948 is considered the birthday of the People's Bank of the country - at the same time it issued renminbi (aka yuan) - banknotes, the name of which translates as “people's money”. Since then the yuan has been considered official currency China.

Yuan exchange rate

At first, the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan against the currencies of other countries was established through the English pound sterling. But in 1974, Chinese money received a mandatory daily quotation against the US dollar based on a currency basket. Beginning in 1994 and for the next eleven years, the yuan was tightly pegged to the US dollar.

But recently the Chinese government has felt persistent pressure from countries European Union, the United States and Japan, which actively insisted that the yuan be liberalized. Therefore, in 2005, the rigid peg of the yuan to the US dollar ceased to exist. From now on, the yuan exchange rate was to be calculated based on its ratio to a basket of several currencies. This state of affairs, according to economic experts, should have a beneficial effect on the country's economy, since the yuan is now becoming more sensitive to the global economic system.

The consequences of the reform were not slow to bear fruit, and in 2013 the yuan took second place in popularity in trade at the world level, displacing the euro. In 2014, the trend towards strengthening the Chinese currency only intensified.

Please note that not all banks in Russia can provide you with their services in exchanging rubles for yuan. Therefore, if you are traveling to China and do not have the opportunity to exchange currencies in advance, do not worry: you can buy local currency right on the spot.

By the way, before converting, check how much the yuan costs in a particular bank. Despite the fact that the National Bank sets its own exchange rate, commercial banking structures can sell currency at prices slightly different from generally accepted ones. The exchange rate of the Chinese yuan to the ruble may, of course, change slightly, but in general it is stable.

Features of banknotes

Each Chinese Yuan note has the currency denomination on the obverse. Chinese and in Braille. N and the banknotes depict a portrait of the state and politician China - Mao Zedong. The reverse of the banknotes has the denomination written in Yizu, Tibetan, Zhuang and Mongolian, as well as images of local landscapes.

Like any other money, the yuan has a degree of protection. It is represented by a hologram, a relief inscription and a transparent window. In addition, on large bills there is an additional protective layer - you can feel it by running your finger through Mao Zedong’s hair.

Finally: an interesting fact about Chinese money

In the Celestial Empire, very real banknotes of the so-called afterlife bank are used. This money is used for funerals - the money is given as a gift to the deceased for use in the afterlife. The Chinese have a rather serious attitude towards such currency: the denomination of the banknotes is quite high, the banknotes have the image of the Jade Emperor or deceased celebrities. The transfer of funds occurs in this way: the money is burned near the grave or in certain places in churches. By the way, you need to burn such an offering by arranging the money in a fan, and not in the form of a folded pile.