Feb. 22, 2012 (China Knowledge) - China and Turkey has signed a RMB 1 billion worth of currency swap agreement, said China's central bank People's Bank of China or PBOC on Tuesday.

Pursuant to the agreement, the deal will be effective for three years and could be extended, PBOC added.

Analysts said China's long-term currency swap plan is to boost the use of RMB for the direct settlement of cross-border trade, as well as unseat the U.S. dollar as the dominant unit of key international currency.

At present, China has signed currency swap agreements with 15 countries and regions.

The bilateral trade between China and Turkey was around US$17 billion in 2010, and is expected to reach US$50 billion by 2015, sources reported.

The Chinese government will stimulate more local companies to invest in Turkey in the near future, said China's Vice President Xi Jinping when he was visiting Turkey yesterday.