MOSCOW, May 15. yuan is beneficial for Russia now, since many countries not only in Asia are considering them and are ready for them, but what risks may arise in 10-15 years is still unknown, says the director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov Alexey Maslov.
“This is a very interesting transition for Russia. It securitises and hedges a lot of risks in this regard. Most importantly, it creates a new economic space… Brazil is ready, the BRICS countries as a whole are considering this moment,» the expert said at a press conference organized by the Russia Today media group, commenting on Russia's readiness to support the transition to settlements in yuan with the countries of Asia and Latin America.
“Today we don’t see any unstable factors. But we need to plan for 10-15 years, because when Russia traded through the dollar, we remember that there was no primary instability either, everything was very good, but the galloping gap between the ruble and the dollar led to big troubles,» Maslov added.
According to him, trade between Russia and China is now in surplus, and the expanded yuan zone will allow Russia to purchase goods with Chinese currency in other countries. And as risks, the expert named the possible linking of Russia to the stability of the Chinese economy, which is now «improving its health.»
In February, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said in an interview that the share of national currencies in bilateral settlements between Russia and China has been growing in recent years, in 2022 this process has accelerated significantly — in the first half of the year, almost half of trade with China was carried out in rubles and yuan, in the second half of the year the process continued to gain popularity, including among energy companies.
And in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at talks with the Chinese leadership in an expanded format, said that Russia was in favor of developing the use of Chinese yuan in settlements with the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.