Mar. 3 – The use of the Chinese renminbi for trade settlement has been increasing at the Sino-Vietnamese border.
Transnational commuters crossing to the border number several thousands daily with more than 10,000 local Chinese are engaged in border trade. In the urban districts of Dongxing alone there are more than 6,000 registered dealers. Dongxing is located in Vietnam's Mong Cai special economic zone and across the Beilun River.
"When I began to do this business, traders were prone to choosing the U.S. dollar or the Vietnamese dong for trade settlement payments. But the Renminbi has become a hot choice in recent few years, " said Ruan Jinhua, a resident in the border city of southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region told Xinhua.
Trade between China and the ASEAN members reached more thant US$230 billion last year, an increase of 13.9 percent year-on-year while China and Vietnam traded more than US$20 billion worth of goods.
By the end of December, 163 companies reported settlements for trade in Pingxiang in addition to 125 that had opened deposits accounts at ABC's local branch.
The official exchange rate for the Renminbi against the Vietnamese dong is one yuan for 2,100 Vietnamese dong. Money changers in Dongxing and Pingxiang, border will charge one yuan for 2,500 Vietnamese dong.
Vhina's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province are now allowed to use the renminbi to settle trade payments with ASEAN members.
The government has also allowed the yuan to be used trade settlement between Guangdong Province and the Yangtze River Delta and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.
