They are not innovative, they just want to keep controlling their people over the innovative ideas like decentralized payment system.Digital yuan is nothing more than the digital fiat transacted over the banking chain but they call it as innovative because they know people are stupids. 
The introduction of the digital yuan is primarily due to the total desire to control its citizens. It seems to me that the European Central Bank itself does not know what it needs Digital Euro for and is developing it only for the reason that China is testing The digital yuan.