China News Service, August 21. According to the website of the People's Bank of China, in order to crack down on illegal trading of RMB, maintain the credibility of RMB, protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and promote the healthy development of monetary cultural activities, in accordance with the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of RMB" and the "Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Prohibiting the Illegal Trading of RMB" (State Office of the People's Republic of China [1997] No. 28), the People's Bank of China and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued an announcement. The specific contents of the announcement are as follows:
1. Any unit or individual is prohibited from buying or selling RMB, except in the following circumstances:
(1) RMB that has been discontinued from circulation as announced by the People's Bank of China can be bought and sold from the date of suspension of circulation.
(2) Commemorative coins can be bought and sold. Commemorative coins include ordinary commemorative coins and precious metal commemorative coins, and ordinary commemorative coins include commemorative coins and commemorative banknotes. Ordinary commemorative coins may not be bought or sold in any way before being redeemed by the public.
(3) Other circumstances specified by the People's Bank of China.
2. The purchase and sale of commemorative coins and RMB out of circulation must abide by relevant laws and regulations on market supervision and management and RMB management, and adhere to the principles of honesty, trustworthiness, voluntariness, and fairness. Sales information must be true and accurate, and no false propaganda is allowed. No exaggeration of earnings, guaranteed commitments for future earnings, explicit or implicit guarantees of no risk in earnings, etc. shall be allowed. Money laundering, illegal fund-raising and other illegal financial activities shall not be conducted or facilitated through the purchase and sale of RMB.
3. Binding commemorative coins and RMB out of circulation shall be marked with the name of the binding unit. Without authorization from the People's Bank of China, the name, logo, signature of the president, etc. of the People's Bank of China may not be used in production or sales.
4. When making commemorative medals, coupons, gold and other handicrafts, the name and currency unit of the People's Bank of China shall not be used. During the sales process, consumers shall not be misled into thinking that such goods are RMB or that the seller is the People's Bank of China. The names of the People's Bank of China and its staff shall not be used for publicity.
5. Illegal trading of RMB in circulation shall be punished by the market supervision and management department and other relevant administrative law enforcement departments in accordance with Article 43 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of RMB" and other provisions. If the illegal trading of RMB is suspected of fraud or deception, the relevant departments will be held legally responsible according to the severity of the case.
6. The branches of the People's Bank of China, together with the local market regulatory authorities, will clean up and rectify local RMB trading activities in accordance with the requirements of the "Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Prohibiting the Illegal Trading of RMB" and this announcement. The clean-up and rectification of RMB buying and selling activities on online trading platforms shall be the responsibility of the branches of the People's Bank of China and the market supervision and management departments at or above the county level in the place where the operators on the platform actually operate or where the platform operators are domiciled, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the market supervision and management department on the jurisdiction of illegal activities on online trading platforms.
7. Banking financial institutions and their employees who violate national laws and regulations and use their positions to support and participate in illegal RMB trading activities will be dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations.
8. Anyone suspected of violating laws and regulations when buying and selling foreign currencies and currencies from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and other regions will be dealt with in accordance with foreign exchange management regulations.
9. The People’s Bank of China and the State Administration for Market Regulation are responsible for the interpretation of this announcement.
10. This announcement will come into effect on September 1, 2026. The "Notice of the People's Bank of China and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Implementing the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Prohibiting the Illegal Trading of RMB" (Yinfa [1997] No. 399) and the "People's Bank of China and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce Announcement" ([2016] No. 14) were abolished at the same time.
