Does Shanghai International Financial Center Promote RMB Internationalization?

Abstract

The construction of the Shanghai International Financial Center was completed in 2020, which signaled the new age of financial reforms in China. The Shanghai International Financial Center plays a significant part in the progress of RMB internationalization. However, empirical proof of the impacts remains few. So, we conducted an empirical analysis to determine if the Shanghai International Financial Center promoted RMB internationalization effectively. To obtain robust results, we conducted regressions with Newey–West standard errors, Cochrane–Orcutt estimation, and Prais–Winsten estimation. We observed that the Shanghai International Financial Center has significant positive effects on RMB internationalization by expanding financial scale and activity. The findings give adequate evidence to support the theories advanced in prior research, and the methodology and indicators used in the study may serve as a guide for future research. We made several policy discussions of the findings regarding the continued expansion of the offshore market and capital liberalization within Shanghai.