Photo: Screenshot of WeChat account of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Marseille
China Merchants Bank (Europe) and France’s Baudouin, a manufacturer of diesel engines for marine and power generation, on Saturday signed a yuan financing agreement in Marseille, France, with a financing amount of 110 million yuan ($15.45 million), marking the first yuan-denominated financing deal in southern France, according to an article posted on the official WeChat account of the Chinese Consulate General in Marseille.
Chinese Consul General in Marseille, He Youlin, attended the signing ceremony, saying that the Consulate General values the role of finance in empowering bilateral cooperation, and supports quality enterprises in the consular district to connect with Chinese-funded banks, in a bid to explore cooperation such as yuan financing to facilitate deeper practical collaboration with China.
The cooperation between China Merchants Bank (Europe) and Baudouin Company is characterized by low interest rates, high efficiency, and pure credit. This provides more diverse financing options for local enterprises in southern France, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, and is worth replicating and promoting, He noted, according to the article.
Xue Fei, general manager of China Merchants Bank (Europe), expressed gratitude for the guidance and support from the Consulate General, noting that it took only 30 days from the enterprise’s financing application to approval. Moving forward, the bank will continue to prioritize customers, providing flexible and efficient comprehensive financial services to both Chinese-funded enterprises in Europe and local European companies, the article said.
Fabrizio Mozzi, CEO of Baudouin, said that through the yuan financing, the company can more conveniently procure raw materials and components from China, significantly reducing operational and procurement costs, improving settlement efficiency and supply chain stability, and mitigating exchange rate risks and financial expenses, providing strong support for the company’s global development.
Wang Peng, associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that the latest cooperation will not only provide more financing options for enterprises, but also enhance bilateral economic cooperation, providing a good example for others to conduct financial collaboration with China.
Against the backdrop of geo-economic fragmentation, China has promoted yuan internationalization, which promoted the multipolar nature of the international monetary system, Wang Peng said.
Wang Fang, deputy director of the International Monetary Institute of Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that yuan internationalization is a systemic solution for China to effectively address the deepening impact of geo-economic risks in the world, and it also contributes to stabilizing global markets as well as the international financial system.
“As the Chinese currency increasingly matures into a major international currency, it can bring a diversified mechanism into the international monetary and financial system, helping mitigate the systemic risks arising from the inherent instability of a world economic order based on self-interest and a monopolistic core. In this sense, yuan internationalization benefits not only China but also the whole world,” Wang Fang noted.