On November 18 2003, China Construction Bank and Savings Bank of the Russian Federation held signing ceremony of Cooperative Agreement on Domestic Currency Settlement Account in Frontier Trade in Harbin of Heilongjiang province. Officials from head office of CCB, Heilongjiang branch, Heihe sub-branch, Foreign Trade Office of Heilongjiang, Bureau of Foreign Exchange Supervision and other related departments participated in the ceremony.

This agreement between CCB and Savings Bank of the Russian Federation is developed according to Agreement on Banking Settlement in Frontier Regions signed by Central Banks of China and Russia in August 2002. According to the agreement, Heihe sub-branch of CCB and Blagoveshchensk branch of Savings Bank of the Russian Federation will set up ruble and RMB account. In the future, the domestic currencies, namely RMB and ruble may be applied in the trade between merchants of Heihe and Blagoveshchensk respectively. This project not only provides new settlement manners except USD, but also significantly reduces the transaction cost and avoids exchange risks.

Savings Bank of the Russian Federation has more than 160 years of history since its establishment in 1841. The assets of this bank account for one fourth of banking industry of Russia. This bank leads the industry in deposit, foreign exchange services and comprehensive strength.

Since the signature of Cooperative Agreement on USD Account between Heihe sub-branch and Savings Bank of the Russian Federation in December 1997, international settlement volume has increased form hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars to 60 million USD currently. The signature of current agreement not only conforms to the policy guidance of central bank on standardizing frontier trade settlement, but also strengthens frontier trade settlement business of CCB and helps Heihe sub-branch to lead the regional industry international business.