China’s offshore tax crackdown could inadvertently fuel a digital dollar boom
Por Hugh Harsono — South China Morning Post – News feed
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Opinion Hugh Harsono China’s offshore tax crackdown could inadvertently fuel a digital dollar boom
Rich Chinese may now be more motivated to explore dollar-linked digital assets, which are globally plentiful and portable, although access to them is restricted in mainland China
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Hugh Harsono Hugh Harsono writes regularly for multiple publications about cyberspace, economics, foreign affairs and technology. Published: 8:30pm, 21 Oct 2026
From October 22, China’s grace period for the disclosure and settlement of certain offshore-trust tax liabilities ends.
For the Chinese government, this deadline highlights its desire to affirm control over capital outflows, while for Chinese high-net-worth families, it serves as a reminder that it is now harder to keep international assets beyond the reach of the government.
The deadline sits against the backdrop of China tightening scrutiny around cryptocurrency, stablecoins and real-world asset tokenisation.
The authorities have reaffirmed that all cryptocurrency-related activities remain illegal, while also imposing strict limits on yuan-pegged stablecoins both within and outside the country and on tokenised-asset activity outside approved financial infrastructure.
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