KUNMING — The cumulative amount of cross-border renminbi settlement in Southwest China's Yunnan province reached around 45.75 billion yuan (about $7.1 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, according to a local branch of the country's central bank.

The figure marked a year-on-year increase of 7.5 percent in the period, according to the Kunming branch of the People's Bank of China.

Of the total amount, the cross-border renminbi settlement under current accounts exceeded 33.4 billion yuan, up 14.16 percent year-on-year, mainly due to the increase in trade settlement with Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

The settlement under capital accounts reached nearly 12.35 billion yuan, down 7.14 percent year-on-year, mainly due to the decrease in cross-border direct investment settlement affected by COVID-19.

The renminbi accounted for more than 38 percent of the total cross-border incomes and expenditures of local and foreign currencies in Yunnan during this period, remaining the second largest cross-border settlement currency in the province.