Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi during a recent trip.

China singed a 35 billion yuan (US$5.54 billion) currency swap agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday to cement bilateral ties in finance, trade and investment, according to a statement from the People's Bank of China.

The deal, valued at 35 billion yuan, will be effective for three years and is extendable after mutual agreement, the central bank said in the statement.

The move is considered as a spinoff of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the Middle East and also a crucial step towards the internationalization of China's yuan.

Prior to this deal, China had signed a combined deal worth 1.3 trillion in currency swap deals with 14 countries and regions.

China's business press carried the story above on Wednesday.

Tontact the writer of this story at: hes@china.org.cn.