Russia has announced that nearly all of its trade with India and China is now conducted in nationalussia has announced that nearly all of its trade with India and China is now conducted in national currencies, marking a significant shift away from the U.S. dollar. President Vladimir Putin revealed that over 90% of trade with China is now settled in rubles and yuan, while more than 50% of trade with India follows the same trend. This change came in response to Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which blocked access to global financial systems like SWIFT. As a result, Russia has been pushing for local currency settlements, forging stronger economic ties with China and India to bypass traditional financial systems.
Trade between Russia and China has surged, with both countries deepening their "strategic partnership." In 2023, bilateral trade reached a record $240 billion, and economists expect it to grow further by 2024. Over 90% of this trade is now conducted in rubles and yuan, with the share of yuan in Russia’s exports to China skyrocketing from 0.5% in 2021 to 16% in 2022. Similarly, imports from China saw yuan usage rise from 4% in 2021 to 23% the following year. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar’s role in this trade has significantly diminished, falling from 46.8% in 2021 to nearly zero by 2023. Russian banks have also increased their yuan reserves, surpassing dollar reserves by December 2023.
India, although slower to adopt these changes, now conducts more than 50% of its trade with Russia in local currencies. This shift is part of a broader "de-dollarization" strategy, which Putin has championed, claiming that the dollar has become a tool for Western political agendas. While there has been some tension between Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump, with Trump threatening high tariffs on countries that move away from the dollar, Putin has expressed his readiness to engage with Trump if he wishes to meet in the future.