Argentina will start paying for Chinese imports in yuan rather than U.S. dollars, the government announced on Wednesday.

Besides, the approval time for imports from China will be shortened from 180 days to 90 days, Argentina's Economy minister Sergio Massa said during an event following a meeting with Chinese ambassador Zou Xiaoli, as well as companies from various sectors.

Massa pointed out that this move will help strengthen Argentina's foreign exchange reserves, increase economic flexibility, maintain the scale of import trade, consolidate the momentum of trade development between Argentina and China, and maintain the common interests of enterprises in both countries.

He said that the Argentine government has decided to more actively utilize the Argentina-China currency swap agreement, and in the coming months, Argentina is expected to save about $4.4 billion in foreign exchange expenses.

Zou stated that strengthening economic and trade cooperation is an important part of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership, as both sides have strong economic and cooperation potential.

China attaches great importance to conducting currency and financial cooperation with Argentina, and is willing to work with Argentina to encourage companies to use their currencies for settlement in bilateral trade and investment，which will reduce exchange costs, minimize exchange rate risks, and create a favorable policy environment for promoting currency settlement, Zou said.