Bolivia and China sign agreement to execute commercial operations in Yuanes

Published at: 24/02/2024 11:40 PM

The Banco Unión de Bolivia and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) signed an agreement to carry out direct operations, without intermediaries, in yuan as an alternative to the lack of dollars in the country, announced the president of the board of directors of Banco Unión, Marcelo Vega.

“Banco Unión already had some operations in yuan, the relevance of the news today is that we do it through the largest bank in the world, the ICBC, and directly from Bolivia to the People's Republic of China without intermediary banks and without intermediary currencies,” Vega confirmed at a joint conference with Chinese representatives reviewed by the Sputnik agency.

The official explained that this is a “strategic alliance” that will allow businessmen to use the banking resources “of the largest bank in the People's Republic of China” to promote direct trade between the two countries.

Bolivia maintains a close trade relationship with China, mainly in terms of imports.

In 2022, Bolivian exports to China reached 800 million dollars, while imports exceeded 2.5 billion dollars, according to data from the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade.

Mazo News Team/SPUTNIK