Zhao Lijian responded to US senators, who said the e-yuan could be used as a tracking tool during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has urged US politicians to "respect the spirit" and stop messing with the central bank's digital currency. Previously, three US senators had warned that the US Olympic Committee should ban any use of the e-yuan at next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The US-China confrontation
The tension between the two economic superpowers - the US and China - appears to have increased months before the start of the Olympic Winter Games. During a recent press conference, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry - Zhao Lijian - addressed American politicians and urged them not to create problems with the e-yuan. He went further, stating that the US is unaware of what exactly digital currency is:
“We suggest they understand what a digital currency really is. US politicians should stick to the spirit stipulated in the Olympic Charter, stop making sport a political issue and stop creating problems with the digital currency in China ”.
Earlier this week, Republican senators - Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker and Cynthia Lummis - warned that China could use its CBDC for espionage and espionage during the 24th Beijing Winter Olympics next year:
"Olympic athletes should be aware that digital yuan can be used to monitor Chinese citizens and those visiting China on an unprecedented scale, with the hope that they will keep digital yuan wallets on their smartphones and continue to use them upon return. ".
On the other hand, China seems certain to give foreign athletes and visitors the opportunity to use the CBDC during the event. People's Bank of China deputy governor Fan Yifei stressed that the 2022 Winter Olympics would be the next key test for the digital yuan, adding that the central bank had “the confidence to continue increasing the scope of evidence. "
Do China's ambitions include only CBDC?
Recently, the Asian country has launched several actions against the management of cryptocurrencies. For example, at the end of May, the Chinese State Council's Committee for Financial Stability and Development reiterated the ban on Bitcoin mining and trading. After the announcement, the dollar value of Bitcoin (quotation BTC) plummeted nearly $ 5.000 within an hour.
However, Jefferies' financial analyst and Global Head of Equity Strategy - Christopher Wood - has a different take on China's hostile attitude towards cryptocurrencies. He said the Chinese authorities did not impose the crackdown due to environmental concerns, but only to pave the way for CBDC.
Wood predicted that the most populous country is very close to launching its digital yuan, as he expects this to happen in late 2021:
"China does not want any competition when it launches the digital renminbi nationwide, most likely in the fourth quarter of this year."
