MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. More than 80% of commercial transactions between Russia and China are conducted in rubles and yuan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the opening of the SCO summit on Tuesday.

"The use of national currencies in mutual settlements is becoming more widespread. Thus, more than 80% of commercial transactions between Russia and China, for example, are already conducted in rubles and yuan. The Russian currency accounted for over 40% of all export transactions with all SCO countries (Shanghai Cooperation Organization - TASS) in 2022," he said.

He also noted that the volume of Russia's trade with the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2022 increased by more than a third and reached $263 bln.

"We intend to further deepen ties with the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. These ties are growing stronger and more diverse. Last year, Russia's trade with the organization’s member countries surged by more than a third - [by] 37%, hitting a record $263 bln. It increased by 35% in January-April of this year," he said.

"Russia has advocated and continues to advocate increasing cooperation between the countries of our association in the investment, banking, and financial sectors, as well as industry, energy, transport and logistics, agriculture, communications, digitalization, and high technologies," Putin noted.

The SCO was established in Shanghai on June 15, 2001. Today, the organization comprises eight countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as the founding states, as well as India and Pakistan, which joined the organization in 2017.

All member states of the organization take part in the SCO summit in New Delhi. Iran, Belarus and Mongolia are invited as observers. Turkmenistan participates as a guest. The summit is also attended by the heads of two bodies of the organization - the Secretariat and the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. The heads of six international and regional organizations - the UN, ASEAN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU and CICA - are also invited.