On Friday, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said the Russia has seen the share of ruble and yuan settlements in Russia’s foreign trade surge to almost 70% as Moscow rapidly shifts away from Western currencies.
The minister told reporters on the sidelines of the Russia-China Energy Business Forum in Beijing that the de-dollarization of Russian trade with China has nearly been completed.
Reshetnikov stated, “Our trade is restructuring. If we look at the country’s trade indicators as a whole, 68% of our trade is carried out in rubles and yuan, while 95% our trade with China is settled in rubles and yuan. The issue of channels [for payments] has been solved.”
Recent Economic Development Ministry data shows the yuan overtook the dollar in import settlements by Russia with China in 2022. Russia has also used the Chinese currency in trade with Mongolia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Japan, Tajikistan, and Singapore.
Russia has increasingly been seeking to move away from transactions in currencies of “unfriendly countries” as the West continues to build packages of economic sanctions to levy against Moscow.
Reshetnikov also noted that in his estimation, it was possible that Russia-China trade turnover would exceed the target of $200 billion, approaching about $220 billion by the end of 2023.
