Bolivia is now frequently using the yuan to pay for imports and exports, making it the latest South American country to challenge the dominance of the US dollar in international financial dealings in the area.
Bolivia conducted financial activities worth $278 million ($38.7 million) between May and July of this year, accounting for 10% of its foreign commerce during that period, Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said.
“We’ve already started using the yuan. It’s a reality, and it’s a good start. Exporters of bananas, zinc, and wood, as well as importers of vehicles and capital goods, are undertaking transactions in yuan. The state-owned Banco Unión handles these computerized transactions,” Montenegro said at a press conference.
With these transactions, Bolivia joins the ranks of South American countries that use the yuan, most notably Brazil and Argentina.
“The use of the yuan is increasing across Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly among those nations that are striving to create closer ties with China and that view themselves as in some way politically aligned on this particular purpose of lessening their total reliance on the dollar and on the US in general,” said Margaret Myers, head of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Asia and Latin America Program in Washington.
