Chinese Yuan (CNY)
The Chinese Yuan (Renminbi, RMB) is managed by the People's Bank of China under a controlled floating regime. The CNY/USD rate is one of the most closely watched currency pairs in global trade.
Convert CNY
1 CNY in major currencies
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A short history of the Renminbi
The renminbi, China's official currency, was issued by the newly founded People's Bank of China in 1948, before the PRC itself was proclaimed; the yuan is its basic unit. Through the planned-economy decades it was an internal accounting unit; the 1978 reform era turned it into a real currency again.
The modern story is a gradual internationalization: the 1994 unification of exchange rates, the 2005 move to a managed float, the 2015 surprise devaluation that shook global markets, and 2016, when the IMF added the yuan to its Special Drawing Rights basket — formal recognition as a reserve currency. The digital yuan (e-CNY) is the newest chapter and one of the first major central bank digital currencies.
What moves the USD/CNY exchange rate
The yuan is not a free-floating currency, and that shapes everything: the People's Bank of China sets a daily central parity (the fixing) and lets the market rate move only within a band around it (currently ±2%).
- The PBOC fixing: the single most important number, published every morning at 9:15 Beijing time
- Trade flows: China's surplus puts structural upward pressure on the currency; capital controls hold it back
- Policy signals: devaluations (2005, 2015) tend to come in clusters during trade tensions
- Offshore sentiment: the freely traded CNH in Hong Kong often moves ahead of the onshore rate when tension builds
The Renminbi in practice
China is close to a cashless society: Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate everything from metro rides to street dumplings. Foreign visitors can now link international cards (Visa, Mastercard) to Alipay or WeChat Pay directly, which has transformed travel in China since 2023. Cash still works everywhere but is increasingly rare in daily use.
The yuan is not freely convertible: residents face a $50,000 annual quota, and cross-border transfers need documentation. For remittance corridors into China, licensed services handle the conversion legally; sums above the quotas require bank paperwork.
Popular Renminbi conversions
USD/CNY is the pair the whole world watches — a barometer of trade relations. EUR/CNY and JPY/CNY track Europe's and Japan's trade with China. Traders distinguish onshore CNY from offshore CNH, and the small gap between them is itself a market signal.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CNY and RMB?
None in practice: RMB (renminbi, 人民币) is the currency's official name — the people's currency — and CNY is its ISO code. The yuan is the base unit, like the dollar in USD.
Why does USD/CNY barely move some months?
Because it is managed. The PBOC's daily fixing and the ±2% band mean the rate follows policy as much as markets — sharp moves usually signal a deliberate shift.
What is CNH?
CNH is the offshore yuan, traded freely in Hong Kong and other financial centers outside mainland capital controls. It can diverge slightly from onshore CNY, and the gap widens when capital-flow tension builds.