BEIJING -- Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), Austria's central bank, signed an agreement with the Chinese central bank in Beijing on Thursday to invest in yuan-denominated bonds in China.

According to the deal, OeNB will invest in China's inter-bank bond market via the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said the PBOC in a statement on its website.

The agreement enables OeNB to invest in yuan-denominated assets and was the first agreement of this kind signed by the PBOC with a non-Asian central bank, OeNB said in a press release posted on its website.

It "can be seen as an important step in the good relationship" between the two sides, according to the press release.