Russia has effectively abandoned its attempt to replace the dollar with the Chinese yuan in international trade, Bloomberg reported. The yuan’s share of Russian export revenue fell to 22 percent this year, half its mid-2024 peak.
Sanctions reshape payment channels
US secondary sanctions, expanded in June 2024, led the largest Chinese banks to halt transactions with Russian partners fully. The Bank of Russia then asked domestic financial institutions to restrain yuan-based lending.
Russian firms now rely on intermediaries and payment agents to move money. Per SWIFT data, the yuan has slipped from fourth to fifth place in global payments, behind the Japanese yen.
Beijing disputes the measurement
Beijing says SWIFT data understates yuan use because volumes on CIPS, China’s own payments system, have grown. Chinese officials have said they do not aim to replace the dollar.
Governor of the People’s Bank of China Pan Kungseng said the yuan’s share of global payments reaches 6-7 percent once domestic bank transactions and the domestic system are included.
In the latest market data, USD/CNH stood at 6.6692 at 13:56 GMT on 11 November.
Source: People's Bank of China · SWIFT | Data: Swissquote
