As Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari prepared for a trip to China, the 22nd country he would be visiting since he was sworn in on May 29, 2015, many Nigerians who were starting to lose faith in the president and the change he promised hoped he impressed them this time and make the long journey to China productive. Buhari did not disappoint.

Nigeria is experiencing its worst economic crisis in years and hopes were high President Buhari who won election on the mantra of change would revive the economy and help put an end to years of infrastructural decay. Most African countries have relied on China for infrastructural development and it was expected that Buhari’s government would look no further than China to help build infrastructure in Africa’s largest economy. The president had also put power and agriculture high on his agenda for the visit.

Buhari is paying a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who on Tuesday called for improved cooperation between the two countries. After talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of several deals of cooperation, including a currency swap agreement which allows importers of goods from China to conclude their transactions in the Chinese currency, the Renminbi (Yuan), instead of the dollar.

“It means that the renminbi (Yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria,” Lin Songtian, director general of the African affairs department of China’s foreign ministry, told reporters in Beijing after the agreement was signed by the Governors of Nigeria’s central bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC).

Nigeria is not the first country that China would enter into such agreement with. The Asian powerhouse has multiple year currency swap agreements of the Renminbi with Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Malaysia,Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan. According to the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), those swap agreements were intended not only to “stabilize the international financial market,” but also to “facilitate bilateral trade and investment.”

The central bank currency swap (CBCS) consists of an agreement between two central banks, at least one of which must be an international currency issuer, to swap their currencies. The central banks party to the swap transaction can lend the proceeds of the swap, against collaterals they deem adequate, to the commercial banks within their jurisdiction, to provide them with temporary liquidity in a foreign currency.
PS: This is to educate the ignorant and I don't support either wailers or zombies!
Read more on the nerve Africa website below:
http://thenerveafrica.com/5386/a-few-questions-nigerian-leaders-will-have-to-answer-upon-return-from-china/

ok