"This is an interesting development as it signifies France's drive to become a leading RMB trading center in Europe."

Lisa O'Connor, RMB director at SWIFT, saying that French acceleration in RMB payments reflects increased competition with the UK since the Bank of England announced that it had signed a three-year currency swap agreement with China in March. France now holds the leading position in euro countries for exchanging RMB payments, after recording a 249 percent growth in the value of payments since March 2012.

"I think we are very pragmatic in recognizing the economic challenges of the UK and it's very important to recognize the importance of growing markets like China."

Aron Shotton, leader of Flintshire County Council. More regional governments in the UK are increasingly keen to build business relationships with China.

"Offices in New York, London, Singapore and Sydney are all popular destinations for Chinese investors."

David Green-Morgan, research director of global capital markets at JLL. China's outbound investment into commercial real estate could reach $5 billion this year, international real estate advisory company Jones Lang LaSalle said in a report.

(China Daily 05/03/2013 page14)