BEIJING, November 20. /TASS/. The volume of mutual settlements in national currencies between Russia and China is growing and already amounts to 95%, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov said on Monday.
"The volume of mutual settlements in national currencies between our countries is growing. The yuan and ruble already account for 95% of all trade transactions between Russia and China," Belousov said at a meeting of the intergovernmental Russian-Chinese commission on investment cooperation, which is being held in Beijing.
He stressed that despite the difficult foreign economic situation, the Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction have reached an unprecedented high level and continue to develop in all areas.
"They are built on a solid foundation of mutual respect, equality, trust, non-interference in internal affairs, promoting each other’s development and prosperity," the First Deputy Prime Minister said.
He recalled that in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held two face-to-face meetings, during which they set the task of further strengthening investment cooperation.
In late September, following the results of the 26th meeting of the Russian-Chinese subcommittee on trade and economic cooperation held in Beijing, Russia’s Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov announced that the share of the ruble and the Chinese yuan in trade payments between Russia and China reached 90%. He added that an emphasis on the yuan in trade is inevitable based on the size of the Chinese economy and the currency's convertibility.
The Economic Development Minister noted that Russia is equally developing trade turnover in national currencies with other countries, while the yuan is also used for trade with third countries. In his opinion, this is one of the leading reserve currencies. Reshetnikov also noted that there is demand for yuan, and this is reflected, among other things, by the growth of trading in this currency on the Moscow Exchange.