Iran-China Traders Agree to Sideline US Dollar

The senior officials of Iran and China emphasized on reducing the US dollar’s role in their bilateral trade.

During a meeting with Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chen Yuan in Tehran, the Central Bank of Iran’s Governor Valiollah Seif said Iran has been trying to reach currency swap agreements with a few target countries to reduce the dependency on US dollar, CBI’s official website reported.

“Rial-yuan’s bilateral monetary agreement can have a significant role in increasing the volume of trade between the two countries and in this regard, we have conducted a series of negotiations with the Central Bank of the Republic of China’s president,” he added.

The Iranian official noted that other countries can benefit from China’s experience in popularizing yuan across the world, “but we have also taken effective measures to reduce our dependency on the US dollar”.

This is while the vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference noted that boosting banking relations is a prerequisite for expanding economic ties.

 “Despite the fact that the volume of trade between the two countries is currently at an acceptable level, there are still a few issues that require both countries’ efforts to be resolved,” Chen was also quoted as saying.

The Chinese official criticized the unfair international payment system controlled by a few developed countries and said the situation of other countries would be much better if they manage to eliminate these international payment tools.

However, Chen noted that such an initiative requires time, a precise plan and serious efforts by several countries.

 “We could use the experiences of European countries in establishing euro as a common currency between many countries, which is not exclusively controlled by a single country. But until then, we need to utilize the maximum available capacities to expand our banking relations,” he concluded.

Seif noted that the number of banks working with Iran during nuclear sanctions was limited to 35, but after the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the formal name of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers) banking relations significantly improved and Iran has active correspondent relations with 250 banks worldwide.