China’s central bank (PBOC) has authorized the Turkey branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to serve as the official renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Türkiye, according to a statement issued by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The authorization was granted under a memorandum of understanding signed between the PBOC and the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT).
On June 13, the PBOC announced that the two central banks had signed the MoU to establish a renminbi clearing arrangement in Türkiye. This arrangement aims to facilitate the use of local currencies in cross-border transactions by enterprises and financial institutions from both countries, and to further promote bilateral trade and investment cooperation.
On the same day, the PBOC also announced the renewal of its bilateral currency swap agreement with the Turkish central bank. The total value of this agreement is 35 billion yuan (approximately 4.9 billion U.S. dollars) or 195 billion Turkish lira.
In recent years, practical cooperation between China and Türkiye has maintained steady momentum, with bilateral trade growing rapidly. According to official data, China has become Türkiye’s largest trading partner in Asia and its third-largest globally.