The share of the yuan in mutual payments between Russia and China is growing steadily, Alexei Mikhailov, lead analyst at Bitzlato, told Invest Foresight. As Russian-Chinese trade expands, and against the backdrop of the international sanctions and the Central Bank’s tightening capital controls, individuals and businesses are also buying the yuan as an alternative currency to save money and use in business operations.
The recent years’ trend is obvious: the importance of the dollar in Russia’s external relations is declining, as is its share in the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves. At the same time, the share of the yuan is increasing: not so long ago, the Central Bank doubled it, while reducing the shares of the dollar and the euro. Nevertheless, the yuan is unlikely to completely replace the dollar and the euro in Russia, the expert believes.
“We can say that the Chinese currency will gradually become the third most popular in our country as an instrument for investment and savings. Similar processes will take place in Russia’s exports and imports,” Alexei Mikhailov concludes.