This photo taken on June 30, 2023 shows the building of the Central Bank of Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)
The recent decision by the Central Bank of Argentina to enable the opening of bank accounts in the Chinese yuan, or renminbi, represents a step forward in Argentina's support to the internationalization of the Chinese currency.
by Wang Zhongyi and Victoria Arguello
BUENOS AIRES, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The recent decision by the Central Bank of Argentina to enable the opening of bank accounts in the Chinese yuan, or renminbi, represents a step forward in Argentina's support to the internationalization of the Chinese currency, the central bank president said.
"From the moment China posed the internationalization of RMB, Argentina has supported this process, like most countries in the world," Miguel Angel Pesce recently told Xinhua in an interview in Buenos Aires.
For Argentina, he continued, this has been accompanied more recently in November with the installation of services such as the RMB clearing bank by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
"We have also seen that many Chinese and Argentine companies are raising the possibility of bringing investments directly in renminbi to Argentina, which can be in accounts or investments in the capital market," he explained.
The executive highlighted the authorization by the country's National Securities Commission of renminbi operations in the local financial market.
This photo taken on June 30, 2023 shows the building of Argentina's Ministry of Economy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)
Regarding the boost that the central bank is giving to spot and futures operations in yuan, Pesce said that the potential will be defined by investors and companies, describing the currency swap between the central banks of the two countries as the "central axis" of the whole mechanism.
"We expect operations in the capital market to grow. It is also essential that everything is backed by a tool that provides liquidity when required, which is the role the swap contract fundamentally fulfills," he added.
In addition, the bank president highlighted other advances in using the renminbi, including local companies using the yuan for Chinese import payments, which "avoids having to use third currencies in transactions."
The official praised China's strong position as a trade destination for Argentina and predicted an increase of over 10 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade due to an increase in Argentine shipments.
"There is a boost in the commercial relationship between the two countries," he noted, but also at the tourist level, which has made possible measures such as enabling the Chinese credit card UnionPay.
In his opinion, China and Argentina have ample possibilities for greater future cooperation in the financial sphere.
"We are permanently working with the People's Bank of China to strengthen relations ... we want to extend the possibilities," Pesce said.■
