OREANDA-NEWS. The authorities of Venezuela began to offer companies that render services to the public sector, to pay them in Chinese yuan. This is reported by Reuters news agency, citing sources among officials and representatives of private companies.

According to journalists, the offer to pay through accounts in Chinese banks was received, inter alia, by suppliers and contractors of the state-controlled oil company PDVSA.

Reuters sources say that the proposals were made verbally and the companies that received them are thinking about an answer now.

It is not known whether any transactions in yuan have already been made to pay for services provided to PDVSA and the public sector. At the same time, Reuters interlocutors noted that the process of opening accounts in Chinese banks turned out to be rather difficult.

The People’s Bank of China, the Central Bank of Venezuela, PDVSA and the Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela did not respond to Reuters’ requests on this information.

The news agency connects the attempt of Caracas to switch over to yuan settlements with the sanctions imposed by the US authorities against Venezuela. In August, US President Donald Trump expanded sanctions by listing almost all country’s power structures, including the Central Bank. Experts believe that such an action of Washington made it practically impossible for Caracas to make cashless payments in US dollars. Hyperinflation complicates settlements with suppliers in Venezuelan bolivars; in 2018, inflation level exceeded 130 thousand percent.