As foreign firms exporting to China accepted payment in renminbi, the currency piled up in their bank accounts in Hong Kong. That led to the next step: Foreign firms wishing to invest in China were allowed to tap those deposits by issuing renminbi-denominated bonds, and eligible offshore financial institutions were permitted to invest renminbi funds in China’s interbank bond market.
当局的第一步是授权中国公司在跨境贸易结算中使用人民币。随着出口到中国的国外公司接受用人民币结算，这些公司在香港的银行账户上就会累积人民币。随后就到了第二步:希望在中国投资的外国公司被允许通过发行以人民币计价的债券来使用这些存款，同时符合条件的境外金融机构被允许在中国的银行间债券市场投资人民币基金。