The Australian dollar will become the third currency to trade directly with the renminbi, alongside the US dollar and the Japanese yen.

According to a news release issued by the Foreign Ministry after a Tuesday meeting between Premier Li Keqiang and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Beijing, the two sides have agreed to "strengthen financial and monetary cooperation, and to launch direct trading between the RMB and the Australian dollar".

The move was viewed as a boost to economic ties between the two trading partners, as well as a vital step in the internationalization of the RMB.