The headquarters of the People’s Bank of China in Beijing Photo: IC
The People’s Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, said in a statement on Monday that it has renewed bilateral local currency swap agreements with the European Central Bank (ECB), the Swiss National Bank and the Hungarian National Bank during bimonthly meetings of Governors held by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
During the meetings, PBC Governor Pan Gongsheng signed bilateral local currency swap agreements separately with ECB President Christine Lagarde, Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel and Hungarian National Bank Governor Barnabás Virág, according to the statement.
They also exchanged views on issues such as the international economic and financial situation and bilateral financial cooperation, the PBC statement said.
The bilateral currency swap between the PBC and the ECB is worth 350 billion yuan ($49 billion)/45 billion euros with a three-year validity period. The China-Switzerland deal is set at 150 billion yuan/17 billion Swiss francs and will be valid for five years. The China-Hungary swap amounts to 40 billion yuan/1.9 trillion Hungarian forints and will also remain valid for five years.
The renewal of these bilateral local currency swap agreements will help further deepen bilateral monetary and financial cooperation, facilitate trade and investment between China and the relevant economies, and contribute to financial market stability, the PBC statement said.
