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
The United States' push to revoke China's Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status, or granting the Most Favored Nation (MFN) treatment permanently, is a clear instance of unilateralism and trade protectionism, according to a white paper released by China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday.
The white paper, titled "China's Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations", aims to clarify the facts about the bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries and lay out China's position on relevant issues.
The white paper said that the PNTR status is the ballast of China-U.S. economic and trade relations.
The U.S. push to revoke this status violates the rules of the World Trade Organization's (WTO), undermines China-U.S. relations, and disrupts the global economic order, the white paper noted.
According to the white paper, WTO rules require its members to unconditionally grant MFN treatment to all other members, a requirement that has binding legal force.
Over the past two decades, the PNTR has served to stabilize China-U.S. economic and trade relations. Revoking China's PNTR status will see China-U.S. economic and trade relations returning to the uncertainty and unpredictability that preceded China's accession to the WTO in 2001.
China opposes any unilateralist and protectionist acts that sabotage the multilateral trading system and hopes that the U.S. will be clearly aware of the possible harm caused by its attempt to revoke China's MFN status, the white paper said.
The white paper called on the U.S. to work constructively with the overwhelming majority of WTO members in safeguarding a fair and reasonable global economic and trade order and environment.
Rescinding China's most favored nation status undermines foundation of China-US trade relations: white paper
