刘晓明大使在英国政府发行30亿人民币债券上市交易仪式上的讲话：人民币国际化在英国迈出坚实步伐

Advancements of RMB Internationalization in the UK, Speech by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming At the Launch of UK Government RMB Bond

（2014年10月21日，伦敦证券交易所）

(London Stock Exchange, 21 October 2014)

尊敬的财政部经济大臣利德索姆女士，

尊敬的伦敦证券交易所首席执行官贾思涵先生，

各位来宾，女士们，先生们，

Economic Secretary Andrea Leadsom,

Chief Executive Office Alexander Justham,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

非常高兴出席伦敦证券交易所开市仪式。首先，我热烈祝贺英国政府10月14日成功发行30亿元、3年期的人民币债券。至此，英国成为首个发行人民币主权债的外国政府，人民币也将成为英国家外汇储备货币之一，其意义和影响十分深远：

It is a real pleasure for me to attend the opening ceremony of London Stock Exchange. I warmly congratulate the UK Government on the successful issuance of a 3 billion sovereign bond in China’s currency, the renminbi. The bond issued on October 14 with a maturity of three years has made the UK Government the first non-Chinese issuer of RMB sovereign debt. RMB will also become one of Britain’s foreign exchange reserve currencies. It has great significance in the following three aspects:

一是体现了英国政府对建设伦敦离岸人民币市场的“新承诺”。自2011年伦敦启动建设离岸人民币市场以来，短短3年里，英国在签署双边本币互换协议、获得人民币合格境外机构投资者（RQFII）初始额度、发行人民币计价金融产品等多个领域屡创先河。特别是此次英国政府发行人民币主权债券，凸显了英国政府将伦敦建成全球最活跃的人民币离岸市场的坚定承诺。

First, it renewed British Government’s commitment to making London a centre for off-shore RMB business. Since the initiative was launched in 2011, Britain has created a number of records within a short span of three years. Here are some examples:

Britain and China signed the first currency swap agreement.

Britain was awarded the first RMB RQFII quota outside Asia.

Britain issued the first RMB denominated financial products.

The issuance of sovereign debt in RMB has accentuated British government’s firm commitment to building London into one of the most dynamic off-shore RMB markets.

二是创造了人民币国际化的“新里程碑”。经过改革开放30多年的快速发展，中国经济规模跃居世界第二，外贸总量跃居世界第一，对外直接投资世界第三，人民币已成为全球第七大支付货币。此次市场对英国政府发售的人民币主权债券需求十分旺盛，认购额高达58亿元人民币，充分体现了各界对人民币国际地位的信心、对中国经济前景的信心。我相信，英国作为首个西方经济大国发行人民币国债并将人民币纳入储备货币，将在国际上起到重要的示范作用。

Second, it created a new milestone of RMB internationalization. After more than three decades of fast growth since reform and opening up, China has surged to be the world’s largest trading nation, second largest economy, and the third largest outbound direct investor. RMB has become the world’s seventh largest payment currency.

On the day of issuance, the order book closed with 85 orders totaling 5.8 billion RMB. This fully demonstrates international market’s confidence in RMB and in China’s economic prospect. I believe that as the first major Western country to issue RMB sovereign bond and by taking RMB as one of its reserve currencies, Britain will play an exemplary role in the world.

三是为中英经贸合作注入“新动力”。英国政府发行人民币主权债券体现了中英经贸关系快速发展的需求。自去年中英贸易额创新高之后，今年前三季度中英贸易又增长20%，远远超过中国与欧盟的贸易增幅，全年两国贸易额有望超过800亿美元。中国对英投资增长迅猛，近三年合计180多亿美元，超过此前30年总和，英国已成为中国在欧洲最大投资目的地国。伦敦加快建设人民币离岸市场，将有力促进中英企业界的业务往来和经济联系，为两国深化贸易和投资合作带来双赢局面。

Third, it provided a new driving force for China-UK economic cooperation. This issuance reflected the demand of fast growing economic ties between China and UK. Our bilateral trade hit a record high last year. The first three quarters of this year saw another increase of 20%. This was much higher than the increase of trade between China and the EU. The total trade volume this year is expected to top 80 billion US dollars.

In the meantime, Chinese investment in Britain is soaring, with18 billion US dollars in the recent three years. This is more than the total investment in previous three decades. Britain is now the largest recipient of Chinese investment in Europe. The fast advance of London as an off-shore RMB market will create win-win results, as it will greatly boost China-UK business links and economic ties. It will also deepen our bilateral trade and investment.

 最后，我祝伦敦人民币离岸市场建设步伐越走越实，越走越大，越走越好！

In conclusion, I wish every success for building off-shore RMB centre in London.

谢谢大家。

Thank you.