(Yicai Global) Sept. 1 -- China and Russia are trying to promote the settlement in local currency of their bilateral trade, but designating a certain currency is a market and commercial act.

The government should create a convenient environment, said Ye Fujing, head of the Institute of Foreign Economic Relations of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at the advanced briefing on the financial and economic cooperation of BRICS countries held on Aug. 31.

Settlement in local currency should be encouraged, Ye also said, because it is conducive to averting exchange rate risks and reducing the transaction costs of trade and investment.

The internationalization of the yuan is not only an inevitable trend in the process of China's economic development, but also a beneficial part of and supplement to the current international monetary system, and thus advantageous for win-win cooperation and mutual benefits.

Their monetary cooperation is a very important part of the current pragmatic economic cooperation for China and Russia, and an important area for them to fortify their financial cooperation, so they should actively maintain and promote it in future.

China will support Russia in identifying an appropriate opportunity to issue sovereign bonds denominated in yuan in China, and the two countries will sign the agreement on bilateral audit supervision and cooperation in due course, when it comes time to discuss China-Russia financial cooperation.