China has scrapped¹ a restriction² on cross-border capital movement imposed in January, in what is believed to be the first concrete move to loosen capital controls since authorities began imposing³ curbs⁴ designed to shield the renminbi from downward pressure last year.

中国撤销了1月起实施的一项限制跨境资本流动的措施，这被认为是自去年当局为缓解人民币汇率下行压力而设限以来第一项放松资本管制的具体举措。

The People’s Bank of China has told financial institutions that they are no longer required to maintain a balance of inflows and outflows when processing cross-border renminbi payments, according to people familiar with the matter. The latest instructions reverse January’s oral guidance instructing banks to maintain either a net balance or net inflows of renminbi.

知情人士表示，中国央行(PBoC)通知各金融机构，在处理跨境人民币支付时，不必再保证流入大于流出。这项最新指示逆转了1月的央行口头指导——各银行必须维持人民币净流入。

The loosening measure — the first known step towards deregulating outbound money flows since outflow pressure began in late 2014 — suggests the authorities are increasingly confident they have weathered the country’s worst-ever bout⁵ of capital outflow. The US dollar has weakened against a range of global currencies in recent months, lessening⁶ pressure on the renminbi.

这一放松措施——自2014年底以来出现流出压力以来，对资金流出放松管制的第一项已知措施——似乎表明，中国当局越来越相信，他们已挺过了该国最严重的一段资本外流时期。近几个月来，美元相对一系列全球货币走弱，减轻了人民币汇率的压力。

Reducing outflows may also help to reinvigorate the central bank’s effort to promote renminbi internationalisation. Encouraging the accumulation of renminbi in offshore⁷ centres such as Hong Kong, London, Singapore and Frankfurt is crucial to enabling foreigners to use the currency for trade and investment. Liquidity⁸ drain has sharply reduced Hong Kong’s offshore renminbi market over the past year.

减少外流或许也有助于重振中国央行推动人民币国际化的努力。鼓励香港、伦敦、新加坡和法兰克福等离岸中心积累人民币，对于让外国人在贸易和投资中能够使用这种货币是至关重要的。过去一年里，流动性趋紧显著削弱了香港的离岸人民币市场。

Before the January crackdown, cross-border renminbi had become an important channel for taking money out of China. Once offshore, renminbi can be converted to hard currency in Hong Kong or other offshore centres without regulation by mainland authorities.

1月实行限制措施之前，跨境人民币支付已成为把资金带出中国的一条重要渠道。离境之后，人民币便不受内地当局的监管，可以在香港或其他离岸中心兑换为硬通货。

An average $28bn per month exited China through renminbi payments in the first 11 months of 2016, but the monthly average fell to $6bn in the three months to the end of February, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

国家外管局(SAFE)数据显示，2016年前11个月，平均每月以人民币支付方式离境的资金达280亿美元，但在截至2月底的3个月里，平均每月流出额降至60亿美元。

A foreign banker in Beijing said the PBoC had lifted restrictions⁹ throughout the country. The central bank had imposed different quotas¹⁰ in various cities, with Beijing and Shanghai facing the toughest restrictions.

驻北京的一位外国银行家表示，中国央行已在全国范围内撤销了限制。此前，中国央行曾对各个城市实行不同的配额，其中北京和上海受到的限制最为严厉。