BEIJING - Local currency settlement between China and Russia will help banks and enterprises in both nations reduce costs and exchange rate risks, Ma Delun, deputy governor with the People's Bank of China, said Monday.

China started to allow the yuan to trade against the Russian ruble on its foreign exchange market from Nov 22 and the yuan will trade on the Russian market in the near term.

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The ruble is the seventh currency traded on China's Foreign Exchange Trade System after the introduction of the US and Hong Kong dollars, the euro, yen, British pound and Malaysian ringgit.

Financial cooperation between China and Russia had been fruitful and mutually beneficial, said Ma.

Local currency settlement had expanded from cross-border trade to tourism since China and Russia signed a treaty concerning trade settlements in their border regions in 2002, Ma said.

Bilateral trade this year is expected to exceed $50 billion.