The deal was jointly signed by People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Central Bank of Argentina Governor Martin Redrado on the sideline of the 50th annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank, which aims to stabilize regional currency, shun financial risk and stem the ripple effect of the ongoing financial crisis.

Under such a framework, Argentina importers could use renminbi, instead of the US dollar, to settle deals with Chinese exporters, Xinhua reported.

Argentina is the fifth country after South Korea, Malaysia, Belarus and Indonesia to sign such a currency swap deal with China.

(China Daily March 30, 2009)