As part of China's effort to increase its standing on the global stage, the country has recently struck a deal with Brazil and Poland to print their currencies. Experts have pointed out that China is printing foreign currencies on an unprecedented scale as a way of establishing trust with foreign countries and building a lasting monetary alliance.
Nearly all currency printing plans in China are now running at full capacity as demands for printing have recently risen. It is important to note that the majority of the demands for these currency printing deals comes from members of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Printing foreign currencies is a relatively new venture for China. However, two years after the Belt and Road Initiative was ushered, the country started printing currency for Nepal.
In 2016, Nepal granted the contract to print its currency to the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation. The first batch of the contract was delivered last year. Nepal Rastra Bank executive director Bhuban Kadel praised China's production cost to be lower.
Kadel told Xinhua, that China's work is of good quality and charges a reasonable price.
In an article published in China Finance, China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation president Liu Guisheng wrote that China is now on the business of currency production for countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Poland.
Many consider currency as a symbol of sovereignty and despite some criticisms thrown against China's newest venture, some expert believes that it is the country's way of establishing trust with foreign countries and building a lasting monetary alliance. Moreover, it is part of China's plan to be a major power in terms of international trade and global economic relationship.
It is a known fact that some countries outsource their currency printing contract to private companies around the world. Among these countries are Bahrain, Qatar, Finland, Singapore, and Sweden. In 2011, it was reported that between 10 and 20 percent of all printed currencies in the world are printed by private companies.
The international currency printing industry is still dominated by Western private companies all of which have a reported combined client of more than 100 countries. Nevertheless, China's effort to play a bigger role in the global economic stage has been positive as the country is now poised to be one of the leaders when it comes to currency printing.
