“Russia and China have “completely gotten rid of third-country currencies in mutual transactions”
…meaning nearly everything is in yuan. No more hard currency for Russian oil.
In a recent visit to China, Russian deputy prime minister Andrei Belusov stated that, in 2023, the use of the Russian ruble and China's yuan in trade between the two countries reached 95%. From January to October this year, 68% of Russian trade was made using the respective national currencies of the two countries, according to Russia's Minister of Economic Development, Maksim Reshetnikov.
Russia has used the yuan in trade transactions with Mongolia, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Japan, Tajikistan and Singapore.
Currently, imports from Asia, particularly from continental China and Hong Kong, are 40% of all Russia's imports. About 60% of the country's sovereign wealth fund is in RMB (Renminbi, the official currency of China) assets, and 40% of its foreign exchange reserves are also in RMB assets.
No one wants rubles, but the Chinese currency is not convertible, but better that the rubbles.
It will be exciting when the Chinese real estate bubble bursts.