Modern Social Science Research

Against the backdrop of digital technology development, digital currencies have become a focal point in international finance. As China's legal digital currency, the digital RMB offers a new solution for trade settlement under the Belt and Road Initiative. This paper analyzes the issues associated with the reliance on the US dollar in trade settlement within the Belt and Road framework, elaborates on the positioning, operational system, and functional characteristics of the digital RMB, and examines its application cases and expanding scale in scenarios such as cross-border e-commerce and commodity trade. It highlights the advantages of the digital RMB in reducing transaction costs and improving settlement efficiency, as well as the challenges it faces, including technical security risks and differences in regulatory policies. The paper proposes strategies such as strengthening technological research and security measures, improving regulatory policies and international coordination, and expanding application scenarios and markets. It explores pathways for internationalization through the development of financial infrastructure, policy coordination and cooperation, and the expansion of application scenarios. The paper concludes that the digital RMB holds broad opportunities in the field of trade settlement under the Belt and Road Initiative, while also facing technical and regulatory challenges that need to be addressed to promote the internationalization of the RMB and economic cooperation among the countries along the route.

Digital RMB; Belt and Road Initiative; Trade settlement; RMB internationalization; Cross-border payment; Technical security