Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, has stated that Pakistan is a long-time supporter of China’s efforts to expand the use of the Renminbi (RMB) as a global currency.
China has been ramping up support for RMB clearing and settlement in its foreign trade, especially with Belt and Road Initiative countries and Pakistan was one of the leading countries to use RMB for international trade settlement.
“We are promoting transactions in RMB for big projects under CPEC like the Main Line 1 project, which is almost US$9 billion. We are trying to structure its deal in RMB and we are already working with Chinese companies who have major projects with transactions made in RMB.” Ahsan said.
Pakistan has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China to facilitate the use of RMB in bilateral trade and investment. The agreement between China and Pakistan provides a platform for the two countries to foster closer economic ties and promote trade and investment using RMB.