The Australian central bank plans to invest about 5 per cent of its foreign reserves in Chinese government bonds, in the latest move to build closer economic ties between the two countries.

“This decision to invest in China is an important one. It reflects the broader economic relationship between China and Australia and our increasing financial ties”, Philip Lowe, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, said in a speech yesterday in Shanghai. “It provides greater diversification of our investments and will help with our understanding of the Chinese financial markets.”

This month, Australia became only the third country to establish a direct currency trading link with China, after the US and Japan. The RBA and the People’s Bank of China also set up a currency swap facility in March 2012. The RBA had about A$38.2bn ($39bn) in foreign reserves at the end of last month.