MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Russia and China bilateral trade moving to the Yuan, gradually replacing the US dollar

Yuan already accounts for over 17% of trade settlements between China and Russia and over 12% of Russia's central bank international reserves

The Ukraine war which has impacted on Russian markets and particularly the plunge of the ruble, should not be a major cause of concern for China-Russia bilateral trade since a growing percentage of business is done with the Chinese currency Yuan, as the two countries move towards de-dollarization, according to financial circles in Beijing.

According to Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, China's goods trade with Russia soared 35.9% to US$146.87 billion in 2021, a record high, which also confirms that China remains Russia's top trading partner for twelve years running.

Likewise China's Commerce ministry stats show that energy imports from Russia surged 47.4% to 334.29 billion Yuan (US$ 52.93 billion) last year, 65.3% of China's total Russia imports

And the Yuan accounts for over 17% of trade settlements between China and Russia and over 12% of Russia's central bank international reserves, according to the bank and customs numbers.

In a fresh sign of the growing preference toward the Yuan, Gazprom Neft, the oil unit of Russian gas giant Gazprom, said it has become the first Russian company to entirely shift to Yuan settlements for fueling planes within China, Sputnik News reported on Friday. Likewise, by the end of the year for Chinese airlines operating in Russian airports.