Settlements in rubles and yuan have become the norm in trade between Russia and China

Settlements in national currencies have become a common practice in trade between Russia and China. This was announced on November 1 by Vitaly Mankevich, Chairman of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RASP).

"Settlements in national currencies (ruble-yuan) have already become the norm, which protects trade from external pressure and ensures the stability of ties," he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to Mankevich, Chinese entrepreneurs perceive the meetings of the leaders of the two countries as a signal to expand cooperation with Russian partners.

"It is obvious to me from conversations with representatives of Chinese business that he sees such meetings as a go-ahead for more substantive and multifaceted cooperation," said the head of the Union.

As examples of such contacts, Mankevich cited the meeting of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Qiang on October 21, as well as talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in May. Following the visit of the Russian leader to China, the parties signed 20 agreements in the fields of economy, energy and transport. According to Mankevich, these agreements have created the basis for the implementation of long-term business projects.

"Then during (Putin's) visit to China. At the highest level, 20 agreements were signed in the fields of economy, energy and transport. This has created a framework within which businesses can plan long-term projects. Now it's time to see how practical cooperation is going," Mankevich said.

He added that the nature of economic ties between the two countries is changing: if trade used to be the main engine of relations, now joint investments and production are becoming increasingly important.

"We already have volumes, and this year we are expecting a record turnover.… We see that the milestone of $300 billion in trade turnover will obviously be reached ahead of schedule — the question is what's next," the agency's interlocutor added.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on September 8 that the share of national currencies in Russia's trade with the BRICS countries had reached 90%. He stressed that the countries of the association are not seeking to completely abandon the use of the dollar.