Europe cuts the cables, China extends its networks to Tbilisi Georgia embraces CIPS as SWIFT sanctions loom

On July 9, 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution approving an extremely biased and hostile report towards the Georgian authorities on the progress of Georgia’s EU integration. The document includes the full list of ultimatum-like demands repeatedly voiced by Brussels before. In particular, the resolution states that the process of Georgia’s rapprochement with the EU “has effectively been suspended.” Moreover, the text repeats propagandistic accusations of alleged “rigged parliamentary elections” of October 2024, which, according to the authors, “marked a clear turning point towards an authoritarian government.”

The European Parliament also once again declared its non-recognition of the legitimacy of the current Georgian authorities and expressed support for the French retiree Salome Zourabichvili, calling her the “legitimate president.” The resolution contains demands for the release of “political prisoners,” the holding of new parliamentary elections, the imposition of sanctions against the leaders of the ruling party, and other similar calls.

These ultimatums are well known to the Georgian authorities. However, Tbilisi has long made it clear that no one intends to “surrender” the country’s sovereignty for the illusory prospects of EU membership “sometime in the future.”

A new element in the European Parliament resolution is the proposal for EU member states to consider, as an additional restrictive measure, disconnecting Georgia from SWIFT—the largest international banking payment system.

If the EU countries were Georgia’s main and critically important foreign economic partners, such a threat could indeed pose a significant danger.

However, today even the leading EU countries are noticeably outpaced in this regard by Türkiye, Azerbaijan, China, and Russia. Moreover, alternative international banking payment systems capable of replacing SWIFT are actively developing worldwide.

International financial analysts increasingly consider the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) created by China — as the most serious competitor to SWIFT. The abbreviation CIPS is also unofficially expanded as China International Payments System. It was launched in 2015 to expand the use of the yuan in international settlements.

More than 1,400 financial institutions in 110 countries are already connected to the CIPS network, and this number continues to grow rapidly. In spring 2025, a second, improved version — CIPS 2.0 — was launched, significantly boosting its popularity thanks to higher speed, lower fees, and enhanced security compared to SWIFT.

In April 2025, CIPS 2.0, operating based on the digital yuan, began functioning in 16 countries across Asia and the Middle East. Cross-border payments in this system are processed in 7.2 seconds, whereas SWIFT can take up to three days. At the same time, transaction fees for international transfers via CIPS are virtually zero.

Thus, the European Parliament’s threat to disconnect Georgia from SWIFT in practice only strengthens China’s position and makes CIPS an even more attractive alternative. Simply put, Europe is pushing Georgia into the “financial arms” of Beijing — a country that, unlike the EU, does not use blackmail or interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states. This may encourage other countries developing trade with China to more actively connect to CIPS, especially if yuan-denominated settlements prove more profitable.

Notably, on the eve of the European Parliament’s anti-Georgian resolution, the President of the National Bank of Georgia, Natia Turnava, announced her meeting with Pan Gongsheng, Chairman of the People’s Bank of China. The meeting took place in Basel, Switzerland, during the 95th Annual Meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The discussion focused on strengthening cooperation between the central banks of the two countries, as well as the future participation of Georgian banks in the CIPS system.

“At the meeting in Basel, we exchanged updates on the progress made under our memorandum. We are actively engaging with Chinese banks to boost their interest in the Georgian market. The visit of the President of CIPS, China’s largest state payment system, is expected soon, which marks another step forward. While we’ve made progress on several fronts, I also expressed the need for enhanced support in some areas to accelerate our cooperation,” noted Natia Turnava.

Recall that the memorandum of understanding between the National Bank of Georgia and the People’s Bank of China was signed in March 2025 with the aim of expanding and strengthening bilateral cooperation. It is also known that Liberty Bank, the third-largest bank in Georgia, plans to be acquired by the Chinese group Hualing. Given the current political situation, there is no doubt that the Georgian authorities will provide comprehensive support to Chinese financial investors.

Meanwhile, China continues to actively connect countries cooperating with it within the framework of the Middle Corridor project to the CIPS system. In particular, the issue of Kyrgyzstan’s connection to the Chinese interbank payment system is currently being discussed, which will provide a stable channel for bilateral yuan transactions, reduce costs, and lessen dependence on the dollar and other third-party currencies.

Thus, against the backdrop of threats from the European Parliament towards Georgia, the process of connecting not only Georgia but also other countries to CIPS may accelerate. Although not global in scale, this is a strategically significant expansion of the Chinese system’s sphere of influence — especially in countries where no additional incentive in the form of sanctions pressure is needed to prefer CIPS over SWIFT.

By Vladimir Tskhvediani, Georgia, exclusively for Caliber.Az