The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, has signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Bank of Mauritius, the PBOC said on Wednesday.
Bilateral currency swaps are financial contracts between central banks to exchange a specific amount of one currency for an equivalent amount of another currency. At the end of the swap period, the parties exchange the principal amounts at an agreed-upon exchange rate and each party pays the interest on the swapped principal loan amount.
The total value of the agreement is 2 billion yuan (about 281.7 million U.S. dollars), or 13 billion Mauritian rupees, the PBOC said in a statement on its website.
The agreement is valid for three years and can be renewed upon mutual consent, according to the statement.
The currency swap arrangement will strengthen financial cooperation between China and Mauritius, expand the use of the two currencies, and promote and facilitate bilateral trade and investment, the statement said.
China, Mauritius sign bilateral currency swap agreement
Authorities in east China's coastal provinces Zhejiang and Jiangsu have launched emergency evacuation of residents to help mitigate the impact of Typhoon Bebinca -- the 13th typhoon of the year.
In Zhejiang's Pinghu City, communities have started the relocation work. The old town area of Xindai, home to about 1,400 permanent residents, including some 30 percent elderly, has been a focus of evacuation efforts.
Over 50 elderly residents have been evacuated to a temporary courtyard shelter, where they have plenty of space for meals and walking around. The shelter is equipped with folding beds, food, drinking water and medical staff standing by to address any health concerns.
The province also raised its emergency response for typhoon prevention to level II.
In Jiangsu Province, Nantong City has conducted comprehensive safety inspections and organized evacuations in key areas.
Nantong's Rugao Port on the Yangtze River was shutdown on Sunday afternoon.
All workers at the Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang-Rugao Bridge construction site -- located at a river shoal -- are evacuated ahead of the storm attack.
"From the temporary ferry to the Rugao-Zhangjiagang ferry, we have evacuated a total of 428 people. So far, all construction personnel of the Zhangjinggao Bridge within the scope of this construction site have been evacuated to our shelter," said Ding Xiaoxing, chief engineer of Rugao Water Affairs Department.
Authorities in Nantong has evacuated more than 1,400 people and over 200 vessels along the coastal area under its jurisdiction.
Making landfall in Shanghai on Monday morning, Typhoon Bebinca is the most powerful tropical cyclone directly hitting the Chinese financial hub in more than seven decades.
Zhejiang, Jiangsu evacuate residents as Typhoon Bebinca lands in east China
