The central banks of China and Russia have successfully completed several bilateral currency swap trades and they may continue such operations if needed in the future, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Wednesday.
In October 2014, the PBOC and the Bank of Russia, Russia's central bank, signed a bilateral local currency swap agreement, which set a swap line of 150 billion yuan ($22.91 billion) or 815 billion rubles ($11 billion), the PBOC said in a statement published on its website Wednesday. The agreement was designed to facilitate bilateral trade and direct investment and promote the economic development of both countries.
Bilateral currency swap agreements will make bilateral trade and investment more convenient, marking new progress in financial cooperation, the central bank noted.
China remained Russia's largest trading partner in 2015 and bilateral trade accounted for 12 percent of Russia's foreign trade in 2015, up from 11.3 percent in 2014, the Xinhua News Agency reported in January.
