(Yicai Global) April 27 -- Argentina will start to use the Chinese yuan instead of the US dollar to settle payment of goods imported from China.

Argentina will pay for Chinese imports worth about USD1 billion this month using the redback after reaching agreement with various firms, China Central Television reported today, citing Sergio Massa, the South American country’s economy minister, as saying at a press conference yesterday.

Using the yuan can speed up the pace of imports from China as authorization will be more efficient, Massa noted. Argentina will likely use the currency to pay for goods worth between USD790 million to USD1 billion coming from China next month, he added.

Use of the yuan also can raise the expectations of Argentina’s net foreign exchange reserves, bringing greater freedom, he pointed out.

Argentina has expanded its currency swap deal with China, reinforcing Argentina’s existing CNY130 billion (USD18.8 billion) of foreign exchange reserves and activating a CNY35 billion (USD5.1 billion) disposable line, the Central Bank of Argentina said in January.

Editor: Martin Kadiev