During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed the yuan as the currency of choice for Russian businesses in the global market. Putin called for a multipolar economic order in talks with Xi and signed 14 economic agreements covering everything from scientific cooperation to joint production of television programs. The move is seen as an attempt to counterbalance the worldwide dominance of the US dollar. Putin specifically mentioned the Chinese currency in the context of Russian investments in the developing world and expressed his confidence in the development of settlement forms in yuan between Russian partners and their counterparts in third countries.
China has been a lifeline for Russia during international sanctions stemming from its invasion of Ukraine, with Beijing agreeing to buy oil and gas exports from the isolated country, though at a discounted rate. Xi’s attempts to enshrine the yuan as a worldwide currency are part of China’s aim to become more involved in global economic and political affairs.
In a joint statement announcing the agreements, China and Russia said their alliance was not confrontational in nature and not directed against third countries. The leaders also called for an acceleration of the process of establishing a multipolar world order. Putin and Xi criticized NATO overreach into the East, saying that US hegemony undermines global stability. Putin did mention China’s peace plan for Ukraine, saying that the West’s dismissal of it showed NATO isn’t serious about finding a peaceful resolution to the war.
Xi did not say anything specific in response to Putin’s endorsement of the yuan, and when asked about the conflict, he said that China remains impartial. However, Ukraine has welcomed Chinese involvement in the peace process, with President Volodymyr Zeleksnyy recently saying he looks forward to a potential meeting with Xi.
