Argentine officials are hopeful that a new currency swap deal with China will increase confidence in the peso and give the monetary authority greater power to defend the currency. On March 30 the two nations finalized a three-year currency swap worth $10 billion in order to facilitate mutual trade. So far China has limited these agreements to other Asian countries and this is the first such contract with any Latin currency. China contributes only 12% of Argentina’s total trade and so the real impact on the peso is likely to be small. However, this deal is an important political tool for the Argentinians. As elections loom, this move to maintain a stable currency is being well received.