China sought to allay fears that it wants to topple the dollar as the world's main reserve currency, as Beijing makes bigger strides in creating a digital yuan.

People's Bank of China (PBOC) Deputy Governor Li Bo said the goal for internationalizing its currency is not to replace the dollar, and the efforts to create a digital yuan are aimed at domestic use. "For the internationalization of the renminbi, we have said many times that it's a natural process, and our goal is not to replace the U.S. dollar or other international currencies," Li said on a panel at the Boao forum Sunday. "I think our goal is to allow the market to choose, to facilitate international trade and investment."

China's central bank is currently testing the use of a "digital yuan" in various pilot programs across the country. A report last week showed the Biden administration is increasing its scrutiny of China's progress toward the digital yuan amid concern it could kick off a long-term bid to displace the dollar.