The international monetary and financial system and the digital revolution: perspectives for emerging and developing countries

This article investigates the impacts of the digital revolution on the internationalmonetary and financial system (IMFS), emphasizing the effects generated by the new China’s digital currency, e-CNY. It is argued that from the point of view of emerging and developingcountries (EDCs) the transformations of the digital age imply considering costs and benefitsof implementing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), in a context where this “new form”does not substantially change the hierarchical and asymmetric character of the SMFI. The e-CNY implies the establishment of new disjunctures, such as, for example, developing systemsthat are interoperable with the Chinese system, or not. This aspect carries a strong politicalcomponent in the current context of questioning the status quo in various dimensionsof the international system. To illustrate this aspect, the article brings empirical evidence onthe evolution of the interconnections between the Chinese economy and the main EDCs indimensions such as convergence in business cycles and financial cycles. Greater integrationwith China could work as a potential attraction factor for many EDCs, which could gravitatemore towards e-CNY in a scenario of greater opposition to the US dollar dominance. JEL Classification: F33; F50; F44.