Move seen as small step towards monetary alliance to bypass US dollar in the global monetary system
Russia’s central bank opened its first
overseas office in Beijing on Thursday, marking a small step forward in
forging a Beijing-Moscow alliance to bypass the US dollar in the global
monetary system.
It was part of agreements made between the two
neighbours to seek stronger economic ties since the West brought in
sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis and the oil-price slump
hit the Russian economy.
The opening of a Beijing
representative office by the Central Bank of Russia was a “very timely”
move to aid specific cooperation, including bond issuance, anti-money
laundering and anti-terrorism measures between China and Russia, said
Dmitry Skobelkin, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia.
Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that Sino-Russian trade ties were
affected by falling oil prices but that he saw great potential in
cooperation.
Russia is preparing to issue its first federal loan bonds denominated in Chinese yuan.
Officials from China’s central bank and
financial regulatory commissions attended the ceremony at the Russian
embassy in Beijing, which was set up in October 1959 in the heyday of
Sino-Soviet relations.
Financial regulators from the two countries
agreed last May to issue home currency-denominated bonds in each other’s
markets, a move that was widely viewed as intended to “dethrone” the US
dollar.
The People’s Bank of China, appointed the
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as the yuan clearing bank in
Moscow in September, laying the foundations for the issue of yuan bonds
in the Russian market.
Yi Gang, a deputy governor at the People’s Bank
of China, said financial cooperation between the two countries had
reached a new high, following an increase in trade deals.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday
that Sino-Russian trade ties were affected by falling oil prices but
that he saw great potential in cooperation.
Vladimir Shapovalov, a senior official at the
Russian central bank, said the two central banks were drafting a
memorandum of understanding to solve technical issues around China’s
gold imports from Russia, and that details would be released soon.