The currency is being heavily promoted by Chinese authorities ahead of the Winter Olympics.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Jeremy Fleming said that while digital currencies present a “great opportunity” to democratise payment systems, the development of this new technology also poses a threat.

“If wrongly implemented, it gives a hostile state the ability to surveil transactions,” he said.

“It gives them the ability . . . to be able to exercise control over what is conducted on those digital currencies," he said.

Digital renminbi is a central bank digital currency issued by China's central bank.

It is the first digital currency to be issued by a major economy, undergoing public testing as of April 2021.