Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced last week that Argentina agreed to make payments for Chinese imports in Yuan rather than U.S. dollars, in an effort to maintain its reserves of U.S. dollars.

A planned trip by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to China was postponed indefinitely due to the president's illness. Nonetheless, it did not stop a series of agreements on bilateral cooperation from being announced in recent weeks. These new agreements cover a number of areas, including currency, construction,

China's central bank announced today that it signed a memorandum of understanding on Chinese yuan (RMB) clearing arrangements with Brazil's central bank. While China has pushed for broader use of its currency for cross-border transactions, progress in making the RMB a leading global currency for cross-border payments has been limited.