Russia, China built infrastructure to trade in national currencies
Russia and China have been resorting to alternative payment methods in their bilateral trade ties.
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov told Sputnik that Russia and China have constructed the entire infrastructure required for the transition to trading in national currencies.
"As for mutual settlements, recent events have clearly demonstrated that it is national currencies that are the most reliable and secure form of payment. We have built the necessary infrastructure with China in this area: there is a bank authorized to clear yuan in Russia, the ruble-yuan pair is traded on the Moscow Exchange, and an agreement on a currency swap has been concluded between central banks," Morgulov said.
The share of national currencies in Russian-Chinese trade has increased significantly in recent years, according to the diplomat, who added that under the new conditions, the goal of increasing Russian-Chinese trade to $200 billion by 2024 is achievable.
The Russian president had said on March 23 that his country would stop taking payments in currencies that have been "compromised", though he did note that Russia would continue supplying gas in the volumes fixed in earlier contracts.
