China to Start Payments
With Russia in National Currencies on
December 29
The China Foreign Exchange Trade System has
announced that since December 29, China,
Russia, Malaysia and New Zealand will start
the usage of national currencies in mutual
transactions. Beijing hopes to make the yuan
an alternative to the US dollar in global
trade.
By Sputnik
December 28, 2014 "ICH"
- MOSCOW, December 26 (Sputnik) —
China will start swaps and forwards
between the yuan and the national currencies
of Russia, Malaysia and New Zealand
on December 29, the China Foreign Exchange
Trade System (CFETS) reported Friday.
Earlier in December, China’s
Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng claimed
that China could increase the usage of yuan
in trade with Russia amid the ruble’s
depreciation, which falls in line
with China’s intention to increase the usage
of national currencies in international
payments in order to weaken the US dollar’s
dominance in global finance and promote the
yuan as an alternative.
In October, the Russian
Central Bank and the People’s Bank of China
reached a three-year agreement on currency
swaps worth 150 billion yuan (over $24
billion).
Both the Russian and the
Chinese leaders have repeatedly praised the
decision, saying it would bring positive
effects for the countries’ economies and
currencies.
The main benefits
of mutual payments in national currencies
are the absence of charges for the
conversion of the currencies, direct
payments and higher transparency
in relations between the banks.
