The European Central Bank has announced that it's exchanged part of its US dollar reserves for the Chinese Renminbi for the first time. 

The so-called investment was completed during the first half of this year. The move was based on a decision made by the governing council of the bank in January. 

The central bank says the move reflects the importance of China as one of the Eurozone’s largest trading partners. It also added that the use of the Renminbi as a global international currency has increased in recent years. 

To date, a large majority of the foreign exchange reserves held by the bank are in US dollars.