Photo taken on June 29, 2021 shows China's national flags and flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on a street in China's Hong Kong. [Photo/Xinhua]

City plans to make good use of its strategic location

As a global offshore renminbi business hub, Hong Kong is a key location for expanding use of the currency in global trade settlement, cross-border investment and national reserves, according to officials and experts.

They added that the integration of renminbi assets with the global financial system has been accelerated, along with the global economic recovery and more opening-up measures introduced by the central authorities.

In November, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said at the SFC (Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong) Regulatory Forum 2021, "Our position as the world's largest offshore renminbi business hub will grow with expansion of the two-way cross-boundary fund flow.

"We account for the largest pool of renminbi liquidity outside the Chinese mainland, and about 70 percent of offshore renminbi payments are handled by banks here in Hong Kong."