MUFG Bank has become the first Japanese financial institution to be designated a yuan-clearing bank.

China’s central bank granted the designation after a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sideline of the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan.

Japanese businesses can now settle their yuan-denominated transactions through MUFG instead of using financial institutions in China.

Beijing is easing regulations to promote international use of the yuan, in a bid to show the world it is opening up its financial markets.

Attention is now focused on whether the designation will spur more investment in China by Japanese companies.