ICBC President on Digital Currency: Technology Can Only Reinforce Trust, Not Replace It

According to a Caixin report, Liu Jun, President of ICBC, stated at the first Digital RMB Annual Conference held during the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Meeting that while digital technology is driving the development of the digital economy, it is also bringing changes to the monetary trust mechanism. Data, algorithms, and programmability are beginning to play a role in the generation and transmission of credit. Trust is shifting from being supported solely by institutional frameworks to being jointly underpinned by both institutions and technology; however, technology can only reinforce trust, not replace it. Liu Jun noted that whether a digital currency qualifies as money hinges not on its algorithmic design, but on how credit is backed and fulfilled, and how accountability is ensured. He pointed out that money is evolving from physical forms to data, shifting from multi-stage clearing reliant on accounts and intermediaries toward the simultaneous execution of payments and settlements. While the manner in which money is realized is changing, its fundamental attributes remain the same, continuing to serve its three core functions: medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account.