China printing foreign money to expand global economic influence

Jianan
Yu/Reuters

• China’s money printing industry is running at “full
  steam” for foreign clients including Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri
  Lanka, Malaysia, India, Brazil and Poland, according to
  reports.
• The printing is linked to China’s Belt and Road
  Initiative which has seen China build infrastructure and invest
  in around 60 countries from Europe, Asia, and Africa.
• “A nation must have considerable trust in the Chinese
  government to allow it to print its banknotes,” Hu Xingdou, a
  professor of economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology
  told the South China Morning Post.
• Beijing has been concerned that its enemies could use
  fake notes to disrupt its economy and has viewed the money
  printing capability as important as its atomic bomb
  programme.

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China is printing more foreign money as it seeks to expand its
influence on the global economy.

Money printing plants across the country are running at close to
full capacity to meet an unusually high quota set by the
government this year, multiple sources from the China Banknote
Printing and Minting Corporation
told the South China Morning Post.

Chinese yuan notes made up “a small proportion of the orders,”
with most of the demand coming from foreign countries
participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, one source who
asked not to be named told the South China Morning Post.

Until recently China did not print foreign currency at all, but
in 2013 Beijing launched the Belt and Road Initiative, a plan
that seeks to stimulate economic growth in around 60 countries
from Europe, Africa and Asia through investment and
infrastructure projects.

Two years later China began printing money for Nepal, and today
foreign customers of China’s industry now also reportedly include
Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Brazil and
Poland and possibly many others that have not yet been disclosed,
a source in the corporation said.

The state owned China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation
corporation which is headquartered in Beijing’s Xicheng district
describes itself as the world’s largest money printer by scale
with 18,000 employees and 10 plants for printing paper notes and
coins.

In comparison to its US counterpart, the US Bureau of Engraving
and Printing employs less than 2,000 people.

China’s attitude towards printing currency marks a change from
previous low demand for printing as Chinese citizens have turned
to using their phones rather then cash.

Hu Xingdou, a professor of economics at the Beijing Institute of
Technology told the South China Morning Post that a nation must
have considerable trust in the Chinese government to allow it to
print its banknotes.

“The world economic landscape is undergoing some profound
changes. As China becomes bigger and more powerful, it will
challenge the value system established by the West. Printing
money for other countries is an important step,” Xingdou said.

“Currency is a symbol of a country’s sovereignty. This business
helps build trust and even monetary alliances.”

Leverage over currency can also be a powerful weapon. During the
destruction of Libya and Muammar Gaddafi by the West seven years
ago, the British government seized $1.5 billion Libyan dinars
originally produced for the the dictator by British currency
printer De La Rue, which sparked shortages in the country and put
pressure on the regime.

Beijing has been concerned that its enemies could use fake notes
to disrupt its economy and has viewed the money printing
capability being as important as it’s atomic bomb programme.