On Monday, Reuters reported that Pakistan paid for its first shipment of Russian crude oil in Chinese yuan, according to the nation’s Petroleum Minister, Musadik Malik.

The shipment arrived in the Karachi port following a deal between Russia and Pakistan which was finalized in January. In April the first order made under the new deal was placed.

No other details were revealed by Malik regarding the price paid, or any discounts applied to the order. However in paying for the shipment in yuan, the transaction became a significant move away from Pakistan’s dollar-denominated policy regarding export payments.

Following a collective ban on purchases of Russian energy products imposed by the European Union, the G7, and their allies in December, as well as the imposition of a price cap of $60 per barrel, Russia signed the oil deal with Pakistan in a effort to diversify its avenues of export.

Due to the sanctions, which effectively made negotiating settlements in US dollars impossible for Russia due to it being cut off from the Western financial system, Moscow redirected its oil flows to other nations which were not subject to the sanction restrictions, and which could negotiate payment settlements in currencies other than the US dollar

Previous reports had indicated that Pakistan had agreed to pay roughly $50-52 per barrel for its Russian crude shipments. The nation imported 154,000 barrels of oil per day last year, with roughly 80% of that coming from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Gulf nations. Most of Pakistan’s external payments are made to settle transactions for energy products.

The country hopes that its predicament of high external debt, a weak local currency, and foreign exchange reserves, which are sitting at a critical level, will be helped by these shipments, if they can stabilize the price of oil in the nation.