Argentina edges back to China on currency swap despite US pressure

Santiago Bausili, president of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, met People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng on the sidelines of an international symposium organised by the Bank for International Settlements and China’s central bank, according to a statement from the Argentine monetary authority.

Bausili and Gongsheng exchanged views on the international economic and financial outlook and discussed the workings of the global monetary system, the Argentine central bank added.

The two officials also addressed central bank cooperation at a time of what the institution described as growing financial interdependence.

Buenos Aires has publicly denied that the renewal of the swap was on the agenda. But national news agency Noticias Argentinas reported that talks to extend the arrangement were advancing and that only administrative steps remained before any deal could be formalised.

Neither government has said publicly whether the framework agreement, which expires on August 6, will continue. For Argentina, the line is less a debt than an insurance policy, a source of yuan it can tap to shore up reserves and settle imports from China, its second-largest trading partner after Brazil.