CRI听力：Securities Times: Currency Swaps Promote RMB Internationalization

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, last week signed a currency swap agreement with the Bank of Indonesia to allow them to exchange up to 100 billion yuan or 175 trillion Indonesian Rupiah during the next three years.

China's central bank previously signed currency swap deals totaling 480 billion yuan with South Korea, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Malaysia and Belarus.

An article in the Securities Times said currency swaps are an important measure for the internationalization of the renminbi, China's national currency.

It points out that the central bank has accelerated the pace of swapping currencies with neighboring countries and regions since the outbreak of the global financial crisis. Such measures can promote bilateral and multilateral trade and investment, boost economic development, ensure a more stable regional financial environment, enable the renminbi to cover wider areas and improve the currency's international status.(www.hXen.com)

With the American and European financial markets experiencing massive turbulence, there have been urgent calls for the establishment of a new international financial order and the establishment of multiple international currencies to replace the U.S. dollar as the base currency of the foreign exchange market, international trade and the global banking system.

The article notes that China, as the world's third largest economy, has maintained a stable and secure financial system despite the rather grim world economic situation. Given this, the country's central bank should continue to push for the renminbi's internationalization.