TORONTO -- The renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Canada, ICBC Canada, was officially launched on Monday evening. This is the first RMB trading hub in North America and in the western hemisphere.

The hub is the latest step in a Canada-China relationship now worth $78 billion in two-way trade.

Canada's Finance Minister Joe Oliver launched the bank at an event in Toronto hosted by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).