China and Bolivia seek to strengthen their economic and commercial ties

Photo: Flickr.

The president of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), Edwin Rojas Ulo, held a meeting with the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Bolivia, Wang Liang, in order to iron out details of further financial cooperation between the two countries. 

The BCB stated “within the framework of the dialogue, both agreed to carry out actions to consolidate the financial and commercial integration between Bolivia and China,” according to a statement shared on social media. 

According to the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance, the Bolivian government is taking the necessary steps to introduce a Chinese bank into the country as part of the commercial exchange between Bolivia and China, according to the local outlet La Voz de Tarija.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Bank of China already have branches in Argentina and Brazil, but do not have current presence in Bolivia. There was a marked interest in operating with the Chinese currency in Bolivia throughout 2023, after Brazil and China agreed in March last year to carry out trade in their respective currencies in lieu of the U.S. dollar.

Furthermore, at the beginning of January, the Minister of Economy and Public Finance, Marcelo Montenegro, stated that they were already in the final phase of analysis with a Chinese investment bank, in order to address the fluctuations of the dollar and facilitate purchases between countries.

Likewise, the openness and predisposition to establish joint mechanisms in the financial sphere was hailed as progress by the BCB.

“Both parties celebrated the opening of a Renminbi branch of Banco Unión in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC),” the BCB stated on social media.