AFP and Fox Business report that China and Brazil agreed to trade in their own currencies, discarding the U.S. dollar as a go-between, the Brazilian government announced on 29 March.

The deal will be of considerable benefit to both nations, enabling them to make large-scale trade agreements directly, using the Chinese yuan and Brazilian reais.

The two nations completed USD 150.5 billion in bilateral trade last year, making China Brazil’s largest trading partner.

China overtook the United States as Brazil’s top trading partner in 2009. Brazil is currently the largest recipient of Chinese investment in South America investing heavily in high-tension electricity transmission lines and oil extraction.

The move is likely to cement Brazil’s status as South America’s largest economy and for China, the deal represents another step towards rivalling the U.S. global economic hegemony.

“The expectation is that this will reduce costs… promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment,” the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency explained in a statement.

A preliminary agreement had already been put in place in January and was given the seal of approval following a China-Brazil business forum in Beijing.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was scheduled to be present, was unable to attend the forum after suffering a bout of pneumonia.

Brazil is not the first country to put in place such a deal with China, as Russia, Pakistan, and several other countries have similar currency agreements.