Vladimir Putin in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin
Photo: REUTERS
DOLLAR IN CALCULATION DO NOT TAKE
“National currencies are increasingly used in mutual trade,” Vladimir Putin said in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin. – We are in favor of the use of the Chinese yuan in agreements between the Russian Federation and the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. These forms of payment will be developed between Russian partners and their counterparts in third countries.
And here are the numbers to help us. As the Central Bank recently reported, the share of “toxic” currencies (and now they are called dollars and euros because the US and the EU use them to politically pressure other countries) in payments for Russian exports fell from 87%. to 48% in 2022. . The ruble, on the contrary, grew decently from 12% to 34%, and the yuan – from 0.5% to 16%. If we talk about imports, then the dollar and the euro fell below 50% there, and the yuan rose to 23%. The world is changing rapidly before our eyes.
Financial analyst Mikhail Belyaev explained to KP.RU that each currency is connected with the national economy and is a derivative of this economy, and not an abstract instrument that lives on its own.
– The whole world, including Russia, settled in dollars, because the United States dominated international trade, – said the expert. – In recent years, China has displaced the United States from first place, and its currency has become more in demand in settlements. The vector of world development has shifted towards the Eastern Hemisphere. Many countries are linked to trade with China and find it more convenient to pay in yuan.
As proof of the analyst’s words, we present the data of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China. In 2022, trade between Russia and China increased by 29.3%. For the year, record figures – $ 190.27 billion However, what dollars? In yuan, this is more than 1.3 trillion.
TICKLE MOMENTS
Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the Market Research Center of the Institute for Statistical Research and Knowledge Economy of the Higher School of Economics, also considers the transition to yuan payments logical in light of the development of the world economy, but, according to him , there are two disadvantages.
– The yuan is still the currency that does not circulate freely around the world, – he says. – For example, we receive yuan from trade with China. And we need to buy additional Sapsan trains or parts for them, produced by the Western company Siemens. We are given the go-ahead for the deal, and in exchange for the goods, we give yuan. The seller will say: why do I need Chinese currency? That is, dollars will be needed. Also in Brazil, it is unlikely that we will be able to pay for coffee in yuan.
The second delicate moment in the convertibility of the yuan. On the one hand, you can buy, sell, exchange for another currency. So it’s convertible. But, on the other hand, your rate is under the powerful regulation of the State. And no one excludes the bias of the exchange rate in favor of the receiving country of this currency. Will everyone want to perform calculations according to such rules? To be fair, we note that although the yuan exchange rate is set by policy, it does not differ much from the market.
– As for the goods agreements with the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, – says Mikhail Belyaev, – this is normal. China is now trading with the whole world. In Africa, its presence is enormous. He began to actively enter the mainland after the collapse of the USSR and invested heavily there.
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