人民币退居全球第六大支付货币

International use of the renminbi dropped sharply in 2016 as capital controls and dollar strength reduced the attractiveness of China’s currency, according to new payments data released on Thursday.

周四发布的新支付数据显示，2016年人民币国际使用量大幅下滑，资本管制和美元走强削弱了人民币的吸引力。

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) said the value of international renminbi payments fell 29.5 per cent compared with 2015.

环球同业银行金融电讯协会(SWIFT)表示，与2015年相比，人民币国际支付额下滑了29.5%。

The renminbi was only the sixth most used currency in 2016 despite its formal recognition in October by the International Monetary Fund as a global reserve currency, alongside the dollar, euro, yen and sterling.

在2016年各币种国际使用量排行榜上，人民币仅排在第六位，尽管去年10月人民币被国际货币基金组织(IMF)正式承认为全球储备货币之一。其他储备货币包括美元、欧元、日元和英镑。

The renminbi, which had ranked fifth in 2015, was overtaken by the Canadian dollar, which is not included in the IMF’s special drawing rights basket.

2015年人民币在该榜单上排在第五位，今年取代人民币位子的是加元。加元并不包含在IMF特别提款权(SDR)货币篮子中。

The Swift rankings are the latest sign that Beijing’s global ambitions for the renminbi have been put on hold as the People’s Bank of China focuses instead on stemming both the redback’s fall against the dollar and steady erosion of the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which have declined 25 per cent to $3tn since 2014.

人民币在SWIFT榜单上的排名下滑，是北京方面搁置人民币国际化野心的最新迹象，中国央行已转而把主要精力放在抑制人民币对美元贬值和中国外汇储备持续缩水上。自2014年以来，中国外汇储备已缩水25%，至3万亿美元。

“The PBoC’s short-term focus has shifted from internationalisation of the renminbi to stabilise renminbi outflows and the exchange rate,” said Ming Zhang at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “I expect continued capital controls and slow depreciation against the dollar in 2017.”

“中国央行短期内的重心已从人民币国际化转到让人民币外流和人民币汇率企稳上，”中国社会科学院的张明表示，“我预计2017年将继续实施资本管控，人民币对美元将缓慢贬值。”

Michael Moon, Swift’s Asia head of payments markets, also attributed the fall- in international usage of the renminbi to slower economic growth in China. Output increased 6.7 per cent last year, the lowest annual rate for a quarter of a century.

SWIFT支付市场亚洲主管迈克尔?穆恩(Michael Moon)还把人民币国际使用量下滑归因于中国经济增长放缓。去年中国经济产出增长6.7%，是25年来年增速最慢的一年。

However, Mr Moon predicted that use of the renminbi would rebound as more offshore clearing centres for the renminbi are established. Chinese regulators have also said that recently introduced capital controls are temporary measures.

但穆恩预计，随着建立起更多的离岸人民币清算中心，人民币的使用量将会反弹。中国监管部门也表示，近期出台的资本管控是临时性措施。

Additional reporting by Liu Xinning

Liu Xinning补充报道