BEIJING: The People’s Bank of China and the National Bank of Cambodia on Tuesday signed a memorandum of cooperation on establishing a yuan clearing arrangement in Cambodia, China’s central bank said, furthering economic cooperation between the two countries.

China has been trying to boost the yuan globally since 2009 to reduce reliance on the US dollar in trade and investment settlements and challenge the greenback’s role as the world’s major reserve currency.

Over the past two years, Beijing has signed similar yuan clearing deals with Brazil, Kazakhstan, Laos, and Pakistan.

China has also signed an estimated 40 currency swap agreements, predominantly with emerging markets, which analysts say function as a credit line for these countries to draw on. China and Saudi Arabia on Monday announced they signed a local currency swap agreement worth $6.93 billion.

The yuan clearing agreement should enable Cambodian firms to more easily conduct financial transactions with China in yuan.

China’s central bank governor Pan Gongsheng and his Cambodian counterpart Chea Serey also discussed financial cooperation between the countries, a statement said.

Two-way trade between China and Cambodia reached $16.3 billion in 2022, according to United Nations COMTRADE data.