Chinese, Saudi Central Banks Sign Currency Swap Worth $7 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- China and Saudi Arabia have signed a local-currency swap agreement worth around $7 billion, deepening their ties as countries across the Middle East look to shift more of their non-oil trade away from the dollar.

The two countries’ central banks have agreed on a three-year deal for a maximum of 50 billion yuan or 26 billion riyals, according to their separate statements on Monday. China, which has been promoting the yuan’s use in transactions with major energy and commodity exporters, is Saudi Arabia’s biggest trade partner.