The renminbi is the only legal tender in mainland China and is issued by the People’s Bank of China.
The renminbi, meaning “people’s currency,” was introduced by the People’s Republic of China in 1948, shortly before its establishment in 1949. Its basic unit is the yuan, so the terms are related but not identical: renminbi names the currency, while yuan names its principal unit.
The renminbi is divided into 10 jiao, and each jiao is divided into 10 fen. Its ISO code is CNY, and the yuan is commonly represented by ¥ or 元. The People’s Bank of China is responsible for issuing renminbi notes and coins.
Hong Kong and Macao use separate currencies, the Hong Kong dollar and Macanese pataca. Taiwan also has a separate currency, the New Taiwan dollar. These distinctions explain why “Chinese yuan” is common shorthand but “renminbi” is the formal currency name.