The 2026 China International Finance Expo has opened in Shanghai, with artificial intelligence (AI) taking center stage in showcasing innovative development and practical applications. AI is increasingly integrated into daily life, enabling actions like ordering and paying for food with just voice commands while driving. Small and micro businesses are also set to receive intelligent assistants that can help customers with smart ordering and payment collection during peak hours, while aiding in daily operational decisions.
Financial Institutions and other entities are participating across the expo's eight major exhibition zones. These zones systematically display regional financial innovation practices and development achievements from across China, covering areas such as financial infrastructure, nationwide financial institutions, payment system development, fintech frontiers and ecosystems, the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, local characteristic finance, international financial institutions and overseas expansion, as well as financial media and talent. The event aims to foster deeper integration and collaborative development between domestic financial innovation and global industry resources.
Highlights of AI Innovation
A senior official from the People's Bank of China delivered an opening speech, emphasizing that as this year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, it is crucial to accurately grasp the development goals and tasks for the next five years. The focus is on adhering to the political and people-oriented nature of financial work to promote high-quality financial development. This involves staying true to the original purpose of finance, continuously improving the adaptability and precision of financial services to meet the needs of key sectors and vulnerable areas. Strengthening technological leadership is paramount, requiring enhanced top-level design for fintech development in the new phase and promoting the steady, pragmatic application of new technologies like AI. It is also essential to solidify the digital foundation by improving the market-oriented and intelligent payment service ecosystem, thereby further enhancing the security and reliability of financial infrastructure. Deepening opening-up and leveraging Shanghai's advantages in the concentration of financial institutions, factor markets, and talent are key to comprehensively elevating Shanghai's stature as an international financial center.
A senior municipal official from Shanghai stated that the city has successively implemented two rounds of plans for building a global fintech center, propelling its fintech development into a new stage characterized by momentum aggregation, quality improvement, and accelerated pace. The industrial ecosystem is rapidly clustering, with a batch of high-level functional platforms such as the Digital Yuan International Operations Center, Huliian Fintech, the National Fintech Certification Shanghai Center, and the PBOC Shanghai Same-City Data Center having been established in the city. In-depth advancements are being made in cutting-edge technologies, with notable innovation achievements in the AI and blockchain sectors, and scenario applications are expanding across all domains. Regulatory pilot programs are advancing further, with Shanghai continuously amplifying its first-mover advantage in fintech innovation trials, highlighting the demonstrative effect of innovation. The innovation environment is consistently being optimized, steadily enhancing Shanghai's influence and appeal as a global fintech center.
Under the theme of "Building a Foundation for a Financial Power, Advancing Towards the Future with Digital Intelligence and Innovation," this year's expo has specially established a thematic display on "Achievements in China's Payment System Construction." It invites domestic and international payment ecosystem institutions to collectively showcase frontier achievements in areas like the new smart payment ecosystem, cross-border payment interconnectivity, payment facilitation, and payment-driven consumption. In collaboration with a clearing network, an internet payment zone has been set up, featuring leading payment institutions on the same stage to present the innovative development results of internet payments under the backdrop of regulatory guidance, policy support, and technological integration.
Staff at the China UnionPay booth introduced the construction achievements of the national-level AI application pilot base, the only one of its kind in the financial sector nationwide. China UnionPay has established a "1+1+N" large model system structured as "L0 base + L1 financial payment vertical domain + L2 scenario-specific." It has built a computing resource pool on a scale of thousands of cards and a 2TB high-quality open dataset for the financial industry. Relying on a payment big data foundation that covers merchants, institutions, users, and transaction scenarios, it provides data support for model training, scenario insights, and intelligent decision-making. Over 120 AI applications have been implemented across four key areas: financial inclusion, consumption stimulation, risk control and compliance, and efficiency and quality improvement. Addressing the pain points of data security in the financial industry, it has taken the lead in tackling privacy protection technologies for large models. This offers a new "end-cloud collaborative" model for the base platform to provide external AI services, ensuring "no leakage of sensitive data" and promoting the inclusive application of AI technology while guaranteeing the data security of the base's partners.
At the expo, WeChat Pay prominently displayed its latest explorations in the deep integration of AI and payment services. Among them, the Smart Business Robot, making its debut, is an AI solution WeChat Pay is exploring for small and medium-sized merchants. It features modes such as cashier and shopping guide, store manager assistant, and fun interaction. It can assist customers with smart ordering and payment collection during peak hours, aid in-store decision-making for daily operations, and enhance the in-store consumer experience through natural conversation. From assisting with收款 to assisting with operations, WeChat Pay is continuously exploring new pathways for AI to empower实体经营.
To better assist merchants in their operations, WeChat Pay has launched an "AI Access Toolkit," providing capabilities such as Skill packages with native support for 9 languages, real-time online expert services, and an AI-friendly documentation center. This effectively addresses challenges like cross-language对接, code auditing, and technical troubleshooting, offering more efficient and convenient payment access services for global merchants.
Simultaneously, WeChat Pay also showcased an innovative in-vehicle AI payment solution. Users can complete ordering and payment using only voice commands, without needing to take out their phones or touch a screen, enabling a convenient experience of "order placed before arrival, AI ordering, pick up upon arrival." Staff at the WeChat Pay booth informed that they have already established cooperation with over 40 automobile manufacturers, including SAIC, GAC, and Leapmotor.
Advancing the Internationalization of the Renminbi
Following the opening ceremony, the Digital Yuan International Operations Center signed direct participant service agreements in Shanghai with the inaugural batch of 26 financial institutions. Upon going live, the services will cover regions and countries including China's Hong Kong and Macao, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Brazil.
It is understood that, in accordance with the strategic decisions of the People's Bank of China, the subordinate institutions of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the PBOC were consolidated in 2025 to form the Digital Yuan Operations Management Center and the International Operations Center. These centers undertake the functions of the operating unit for the digital yuan financial infrastructure, supporting the construction of a "two-wing" pattern for both domestic and international circulation.
Among them, the Digital Yuan International Operations Center is responsible for the construction and operation of the cross-border infrastructure for the digital yuan, serving the cross-border and offshore system development. In 2026, alongside adjustments to the digital yuan measurement framework and an overall upgrade of the infrastructure system architecture, the three major business platforms—the Cross-border Digital Payment Platform, the Blockchain Service Platform, and the Digital Asset Platform—have been upgraded into the "Cross-border e-CNY Transfer Services" (CBETS) comprehensive cross-border settlement service platform, initiating brand-oriented operations. Overseas participants can conveniently access multiple services through a "single access point" via the Hong Kong接入点.
CBETS offers two cooperation models: it supports cross-border interconnectivity with various monetary authorities' payment systems/legal digital currency systems, facilitating local institutions to achieve "one connection for all" through their local systems without altering their original channels. It also supports direct access by financial institutions, providing直达 7x24-hour intelligent digital payment services.
CBETS boasts three prominent advantages. Firstly, it offers lower access costs and higher settlement efficiency. The platform employs a component-based, modular architecture, providing flexible access options. It organically integrates retail and wholesale, on-chain and off-chain payment, clearing, and settlement services, significantly simplifying business processes and optimizing the service experience.
Secondly, the system services are standardized and compatible. CBETS is technologically compatible with both centralized systems and blockchain systems, with unified management of settlement liquidity. In terms of messaging standards, it is compatible with ISO 20022, facilitating对接 with commercial banks' internal systems while also covering business such as trade finance information transmission and payment both off-chain and on-chain.
Thirdly, the participation arrangements are highly inclusive, with scalable business scenarios. Eligible commercial banks, financial infrastructures, and payment service providers can all apply for access. The platform also provides standardized转接 services to support connections between banks and enterprises, avoiding the cost and efficiency issues arising from multiple对接 points. CBETS can handle business for cross-border digital yuan consumption scenarios such as QR code payments and "touch-to-pay," as well as transactions like remittances, trade and investment financing settlements. It can also support digital innovation businesses for financial institutions. Subsequently, system functions can be iterated敏捷ly based on the business needs of participating institutions.
Participants in CBETS can leverage the system's capabilities to provide customers with low-cost, diversified, secure, and efficient cross-border digital payment services, facilitating cross-border trade and investment financing and promoting high-level financial opening-up. In the future, the Digital Yuan International Operations Center will, based on its functional定位 and Shanghai's区位优势, continue to推进 the expansion of participants and capacity building, constantly enhancing the level of international service.