"Payments via the e-RMB could be contactless and transactions can be conducted via bluetooth and encrypted NFC when two mobile phones with electronic wallets get close to each other. This is different from Alipay and WeChat Pay, that rely on cellular networks, and one can use the e-RMB without the internet, just like paying physical cash."
and
"Meanwhile, the PBoC’s Digital Currency Research Institute that is tasked with the research and development of the e-RMB, advised against a blockchain-based approach to digitalizing the currency or related payment systems, stressing that blockchain’s decentralized and distributed digital ledger that records transactions across many computers runs counter to the PBoC’s role of centralized bookkeeping and administration."
So, it'll be able to work offline. It'll basically act like cash but it's also centralized. How are offline transactions implemented? What happens when you do an offline transaction and then drop both phones into the water? (Schrodinger's transaction?) Is it a surveillance tool on cash payments? I'd definitely like to get my hands on that app.
[1]: https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/china-trials-digital-payments-...