China will allow direct trading of the yuan and the Japanese yen, in a move aimed at promoting trade between Asia's two biggest economies.

This means the two countries will not be using the US dollar as an intermediary.

China's central bank said the China Foreign Exchange Trade system would launch this trade, starting on 1 June.

In December, the leaders of Japan and China agreed to mutually promote direct trading between the two currencies based on market principles.

The People's Bank of China said the move would help lower currency conversion costs and help facilitate bilateral trade and investment.