Argentina seeks new currency swap deal with China as Beijing pursues closer ties in Latin America
- Central bank governor Guido Sandleris says the two sides ‘have reached a consensus’ on the deal
- Beijing visit comes days after IMF approved US$56 billion loans package to help the nation stabilise its battered economy
Argentina is seeking a new currency swap deal with China that would add another 60 billion yuan (US$8.7 billion) to its reserves, as the Latin American nation tries to boost confidence in the peso amid an economic crisis in the region.
It marks the latest effort by China to step up its presence in Latin America, which has triggered unease in the United States. Earlier this year, Washington said El Salvador’s decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing would affect the security and economic health of the entire region.
“Argentina and China have signed a currency swap totalling 70 billion yuan before, and we are looking to expand it by adding another 60 billion yuan,” Guido Sandleris, Argentina’s new central bank governor, said in Beijing on Thursday.
A new deal would help to boost China’s trade ties with Argentina, the second largest economy in South America, Sandleris said. He did not give details of the deal, but said the two sides “have reached a consensus”.
Sandleris took over from Luis Caputo as central bank chief in late September after Caputo unexpectedly resigned in the middle of negotiations over International Monetary Fund loans.
He is leading a high-level Argentinian delegation on a visit to Beijing – along with presidential adviser Francisco Cabrera and Finance Minister Santiago Bausili – and met People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang on Wednesday.
