BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The central banks of China and Canada have renewed a bilateral currency swap agreement, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said Wednesday.

The swap line has a size of 200 billion yuan (about 30.96 billion U.S. dollars), or 39.39 billion Canadian dollars. It will be valid for a five-year period and can be extended on mutual consent.

The currency swap extension between the two central banks will help promote bilateral financial cooperation, expand the use of local currencies and facilitate trade and investment, the PBOC said in an online statement.

A currency swap sees the two parties agree to exchange a certain amount of foreign currency at a pre-determined rate, protecting against fluctuations.