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Russia
ChinaDiplomacy

China and Russia pledge to step up efforts to build independent trade network to reduce reliance on US-led financial system

  • Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin agree to accelerate attempts to create a system that cannot be influenced by ‘third parties’
  • The two leaders also want to increase the number of deals settled in their own currencies as sanctions threaten to limit US dollar transactions

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An outdoor screen in Beijing shows a news programme of a virtual meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP
Teddy NgandZhao Ziwen
China and Russia have pledged to speed up their efforts to set up an independent trade network to reduce their reliance on the US-led international financial system.
Wednesday’s video call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, saw “special attention paid to the necessity of accelerating efforts on the formation of independent financial infrastructure for servicing trading operations between Russia and China”, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told Tass news agency.

He added that “third countries” would not be able to influence this network.

The two leaders also welcomed an increase in the number of deals settled in yuan and roubles as well as efforts to improve access to stock markets for investors from both countries, Ushakov said.

In Wednesday’s call, Xi said trade between China and Russia in the first three quarters of the year had already topped US$100 billion for the first time.

The yuan accounted for more than 17 per cent of bilateral trade settlements between the two and more than 12 per cent of Russia’s international reserves in 2020, according to Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.

Both China and Russia are planning to reduce their reliance on the US-led financial system in the face of sanctions from Washington, which might curb US dollar transactions or limit their access to international payments mechanisms such as SWIFT.

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