BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank has authorized the Turkish branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to serve as the renminbi clearing bank in Türkiye, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Wednesday.

The decision was made in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the PBOC and the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, the Chinese central bank said.

On June 13, the PBOC announced that the two central banks had signed the MoU on establishing a renminbi clearing arrangement in Türkiye. The arrangement will facilitate the use of local currencies for cross-border settlements by the enterprises and financial institutions of both countries, and promote bilateral trade and investment facilitation further.

Also on June 13, the PBOC announced the renewal of a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Turkish central bank. The total value of this agreement is 35 billion yuan (about 4.9 billion U.S. dollars), or 195 billion Turkish lira.

In recent years, pragmatic cooperation between China and Türkiye has maintained sound, steady momentum. Bilateral trade has grown rapidly, with China becoming Türkiye's largest trading partner in Asia and third-largest globally, according to official data. Enditem