THE CHINESE DIGITAL CURRENCY AND THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND FINANCIAL SYSTEM

ABSTRACT This study discusses the role currencies play in the power relations of States regarding private agents and their peers in the international system, based on the case of the Chinese digital currency. The “e-Renminbi” analysis starts by understanding that States are the basic unit of the international system, that they dispute power among themselves, and that their currencies simultaneously manifest and produce power. This study argues that existing evidence fails to warrant any definite diagnosis that the “e-Renminbi” will represent an imminent rupture in the dollar-centered international monetary and financial system.

摘要 本研究以中国数字货币为案例，探讨货币在国际体系中，主权国家与私人行为体及其他对等主权国家之间的权力关系所发挥的作用。本研究对数字人民币（e-Renminbi）的分析立论基础在于：主权国家是国际体系的基本构成单元，各国彼此间存在权力博弈，且各国货币同时彰显并催生权力。本研究认为，现有证据不足以支撑‘数字人民币将很快打破以美元为核心的国际货币金融体系’这一明确论断。