BUENOS AIRES – Argentina will start paying for Chinese imports in yuan instead of US dollars in an effort to preserve the country’s dwindling foreign currency reserves, Economy Minister Sergio Massa said yesterday.
“Following the worst drought in history, Argentina must keep its (foreign) reserves robust,” Anadolu Agency reported Massa said during an event following a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zou Xiaoli.
He noted that there will be challenges “to rethink and redefine the country’s import strategy” together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Argentina has a currency swap with China that works not only as an instrument to strengthen its (international) reserves but also as a financial and commercial instrument,” he said.
Argentina aims to pay for around US$1 billion of Chinese imports in yuan instead of dollars in April, and thereafter around US$790 million worth of monthly imports will be paid in yuan, it also reported the government said in a statement.
According to the local daily Perfil, Xiaoli spoke first yesterday, highlighting the deepening cooperation between Beijing and Buenos Aires as well as President Alberto Fernandez’s trip to China.
In recent months, there has been talk in the region of moving away from dependency on the US dollar.
In April, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, while on an official visit to China to deepen ties, signalled his intent to move away from US dollar dependency in international trade.
In January, Argentina and Brazil floated the idea of creating a common currency to use in the region, the report added.
At the time, Lula said the aim would be to deepen the Latin American nations’ commercial and financial relations. – Bernama, April 27, 2023
