Release Date: August 20, 2026
News Source: Haiwainet, Official Announcement of Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
Original Link: https://www.rba.gov.au/
On August 20, 2026, the People’s Bank of China and the Reserve Bank of Australia officially announced the expansion of the bilateral local currency swap agreement, marking a key upgrade of the bilateral financial cooperation mechanism and building a more stable, efficient and low-cost financial support system for cross-border economic, trade, investment and cultural tourism exchanges between the two countries. As a core financial cooperation tool at the central bank level, the bilateral local currency swap agreement can effectively stabilize the bilateral currency settlement system amid global exchange rate fluctuations, tightening liquidity and rising market uncertainties. It reduces the reliance on third-party currencies, avoids transaction risks caused by US dollar fluctuations, and greatly cuts the settlement and exchange costs of cross-border trade and investment. The expanded agreement further raises the scale ceiling and flexibility of local currency settlement, perfectly adapting to the rapid growth of bilateral economic and trade relations. According to authoritative statistics, the total bilateral goods trade volume between China and Australia reached 131.5 billion US dollars in the first half of 2026, with a year-on-year growth of 36.9%. China’s imports from Australia surged by 45% year on year, hitting the highest growth rate in three years, fully demonstrating the strong resilience and huge potential of bilateral trade. The structure of China-Australia trade continues to optimize. While traditional bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal and agricultural products maintain steady growth, emerging business forms including new energy minerals, green energy products, high-end food, light industrial consumer goods and cultural tourism service trade are developing rapidly, highlighting the diversified and high-quality development of bilateral trade. The expanded currency swap agreement precisely matches the settlement demands of emerging trade formats, improves the efficiency of cross-border capital flows, and ensures the stable operation of trade in both traditional and emerging commodities. Beyond empowering economic and trade cooperation, in-depth financial cooperation also provides implicit support for the integrated development of cultural tourism. With the continuous growth of two-way tourist flows and the increasing frequency of cross-border study tours, business tourism and cultural exhibitions, the stable local currency settlement system simplifies capital circulation procedures for cultural tourism institutions and cross-border enterprises, reduces the cost of cross-border service trade, and supports the large-scale and normalized development of the cultural tourism industry. In the long run, this financial upgrade further consolidates the economic foundation of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, helps bilateral trade get rid of external monetary fluctuations, and promotes high-quality, independent and sustainable development, providing long-term financial guarantee for in-depth multi-field cooperation between China and Australia.
2026年8月20日，中国人民银行与澳大利亚储备银行正式官宣扩容双边本币互换协议，标志着中澳双边金融合作机制迎来关键性升级，为两国经贸、投资、文旅跨境往来构建起更加稳健、高效、低成本的金融支撑体系。双边本币互换是两国央行层面的核心金融合作工具，能够在国际汇率波动、全球流动性收紧、跨境市场不确定性上升的背景下，有效稳定双边货币结算体系，降低企业对第三方货币的依赖，规避美元汇率波动带来的交易风险，大幅削减跨境贸易与投资的结算手续费与汇兑成本。此次协议扩容进一步提升了中澳本币结算的规模上限与灵活度，适配当前双边经贸高速增长的发展态势。据权威统计数据显示，2026年上半年中澳双边货物贸易总额达到1315亿美元，同比增幅高达36.9%，其中中国自澳大利亚进口贸易增速更为突出，同比上涨45%，创下近三年同期最高增速，充分印证中澳经贸合作强劲的复苏韧性与巨大的增长潜力。当前，中澳贸易结构持续优化，除传统的铁矿石、煤炭、农产品等大宗商品贸易稳中有升外，新能源矿产、绿色能源产品、高端食品、轻工消费品、文旅服务贸易等新兴业态快速崛起，贸易多元化、高质量发展特征愈发明显。本币互换协议的扩容，能够精准适配新型贸易业态的结算需求，提升跨境资金流转效率，保障大宗商品与新兴品类贸易平稳运行。除赋能经贸合作外，深度金融合作也为中澳文旅融合发展提供隐形支撑。随着双向游客流量持续攀升、跨境研学、商务文旅、文化展会活动日益频繁，稳定的本币结算体系能够简化文旅机构、跨境企业的资金往来流程，降低跨境服务贸易成本，助力文旅产业常态化、规模化发展。长远来看，本次金融合作升级进一步夯实中澳全面战略伙伴关系的经济根基，推动双边经贸合作摆脱外部货币体系波动干扰，走向自主可控、稳健可持续的高质量发展新阶段，为两国多领域深度协同发展提供长效金融保障。