The leaders of Russia, China and Mongolia met today for a trilateral session on the sidelines of the SCO annual summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin reported afterwards: “The growth of mutual trade exchanges is undoubtedly facilitated by the consistent policy of our three countries to expand the use of national currencies in commercial settlements.”
Putin referenced the bilateral meeting he had held earlier in the day with China’s President Xi Jinping, where they celebrated the growth of settlement in national currencies, now at 27.55%, of all trade between Russia and China. Putin continued: “In this context, it would be important, wherever possible, to switch to national payment platforms, such as the financial messaging system of the Bank of Russia and the Chinese system of cross-border payments. This will make it possible to maximally secure settlements between our states from external risks, including political ones.”
