CHINA and Brazil have agreed an accord to trade up to US$30 billion a year in their own currencies
China and Brazil sign deal at BRICS summit distancing US dollar
CHINA and Brazil have agreed an accord to trade up to US$30 billion a year in their own currencies, moving to take almost half of their bilateral trade out of US dollars, Reuters reports.
The three-year pact was signed hours before the start of a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in Durban, marked a step by the two largest emerging market economies to make changes to global trade flows long dominated by the US and Europe.
"Our interest is not to establish new relations with China, but to expand relations to be used in the case of turbulence in financial markets," said Brazilian Central Bank Governor Alexandre Tombini.
Nearly half of Brazil's exports to China consist of iron ore and related products, while soy and soy products make up about a fifth of these exports. China's biggest exports to Brazil are electronics and machinery.
Chinese officials at the signing made no comment, but the People's Bank of China (PBoC) announced on its website that the agreement is intended to facilitate bilateral trade and investment.
