When European Central Bank vice-president Christian Noyer took a set of newly minted euros to China this week, it was a homecoming for some of the metal in the coins.
Although members of the European Union have been using the common European currency for all their paperless transactions since 1999, the physical currency will only go into circulation on January 1.
In 1999, when the ageing Henan-based Luoyang Copper Processing Group won a bid to supply the alloy for the euro coins, it was one of two companies in Asia capable of meeting the European Central Bank's standards.
Luoyang Copper Processing has shipped 10,000 tonnes of an alloy known as Nordic Gold to Europe for coin production. The company's import and export subsidiary head, Li Yonghai, said it had won the contract because its level of technology met the ECB's standards.
Mr Li declined to reveal the terms of the state-owned enterprise's euro contract, merely saying that the agreements were in line with industry standards. The 50 cent, 20 cent and 10 cent euro coins are all made with the Nordic Gold alloy.
Its characteristics make it easier for vending machines to recognise the value of the coins.
