LA PAZ, July 28 (Reuters) - Bolivia's government is determined to curb dependence on the U.S. dollar for foreign trade, instead turning to the Chinese yuan, officials said, as Latin American support for alternative currencies grows. Bolivia has faced months of severe dollar shortages, driven in part by falling natural gas production, a key national export. Net foreign currency reserves have fallen to roughly $4 billion from a peak of $15 billion in 2014, pressuring state finances and threatening Bolivia's long-defended currency peg with the dollar. Not in dollars, but in its own currency," Montenegro said. Financial transactions worth 278 million Chinese yuan ($38.7 million) accounted for 10% of Bolivia's foreign trade in May through July, Montenegro said.

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Persons: Marcelo Montenegro, Mikhail Ledenev, Daniel Ramos, Lucinda Elliott, Richard Chang Organizations: LA, U.S, Banco Union, Russia's, Thomson Locations: LA PAZ, La Paz . Bolivia, China, Montenegro, Bolivian, Russian, Bolivia, Moscow, Western, Russia, Beijing, Brazil, Argentina