Beijing began a trial program aimed at settling cross-border trade by using the yuan on Wednesday, allowing local enterprises to cut costs and avoid exchange rate risks with their international transactions at a time when the appreciation of the yuan has become a problem for many foreign traders.

The trial program, which began in July in Shanghai and in four Guangdong cities, is spreading to 20 municipalities and provinces, including Beijing, Tianjin, Sichuan and Hainan, the People's Bank of China said on its website this week.

Under the program, companies will be able to use the yuan to settle trade deals with businesses in any country, expanding from Hong Kong, Macao and the 10 countries that are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.