The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Naji Mohammed Issa, and the Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, agreed Saturday to connect Libyan commercial banks to China’s payment and settlement system, Anadolu reports.
In a statement on its website, the Central Bank of Libya said Issa, who is visiting Beijing, met with the Governor of the People’s Bank of China on Friday.
They reviewed the volume of trade between the two countries and discussed ways to strengthen it and increase its growth rate.
“The importance of launching a new phase of genuine strategic partnership between the two central banks was discussed. It was agreed to connect Libyan commercial banks to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, CIPS, which will simplify financial transfers and make them easier to conduct,” it said.
CIPS was launched by the People’s Bank of China in 2015 to facilitate international transfers using the Chinese yuan.
It serves as an infrastructure that enables banks to send and receive yuan-denominated payments directly, reducing reliance on the US dollar by eliminating the need to process transactions through intermediary banks.
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The statement added that the two sides also agreed to address existing obstacles and facilitate trade procedures in a way that would increase the volume of trade between the two countries.
It would begin with the implementation of direct money transfers to China, making transactions easier for small-scale traders.
The two sides also agreed to allow letters of credit to be opened directly through Chinese banks, according to the statement.
They also agreed to arrange a visit to Beijing by an official Libyan banking delegation, headed by the governor of the Central Bank and accompanied by the directors of Libyan commercial banks, to meet their Chinese counterparts at the earliest possible opportunity.
The statement noted that the planned visit aims to establish cooperation between commercial banks in the two countries and to benefit from China’s experience in electronic payments and direct financial transfers.
It added that the measures would help reduce reliance on the informal market, ensure compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards, and improve the reputation of Libya’s banking sector.
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