After the latest package of US sanctions, it has become very difficult or even impossible to make direct payments from China to Russia, even using the yuan.
This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Bloomberg.
Top managers of three Russian commodity exporters told the agency that trade with China has become a gamble, as direct payments in yuan are increasingly frozen or postponed.
Some Chinese buyers of Russian agricultural goods have also had problems with payments this month, a representative of a Russian agricultural firm said.
The problem affects not only commodities such as metals and agriculture, but also other industries. The Association of Russian Automobile Dealers warned last week that imports of vehicles and auto parts from China, currently the country's main supplier, could be halted due to payment failures.
These delays come after the US expanded the parameters for determining whether to impose secondary sanctions in June by broadening the definition of Russia's military-industrial base.
The agency writes that in its July report on macroeconomic and financial trends, the Russian central bank noted that it had observed “a decrease in the degree of openness in the Russian economy, which is reflected in a decrease in the share of imports and exports in GDP, as well as in the increasing role of domestic demand and production.”
Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 18/07/2024