Russia and China working together to counter US sanctions

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Russia and China are continuing to work together to reduce their dependence on the US dollar, as both countries seek to mitigate the impact of United States sanctions against them, CNS News reports. Trading between Russia and China reached a record $110 billion in 2019, and the two countries have committed to increasing their trade turnover to $200 billion by 2024.

On Monday the US Department of Commerce placed 58 Chinese companies and 45 Russian firms on a blacklist for suspected ties to their respective militaries; these companies are now barred from buying certain American products and technologies.

Seeking to boost trade despite US sanctions against their countries, a consortium of Russian and Chinese businesses are currently negotiating 70 joint investment deals worth $107 billion, CNS News said. In a statement earlier this month, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) affirmed that China and Russia have invested over $500 million in joint projects. In particular, CNS News said, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev referenced July’s launch of a $1 billion technology investment fund “which is already studying more than 10 projects worth $150 million.”

Russia and China have been cooperating in efforts to get around US sanctions for some time now: in 2014 the two countries agreed a three-year 150 billion yuan ($24.5 billion) currency exchange deal, giving their central banks more access to each other’s currency, CNS News reports. Then, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow in June 2019, Moscow and Beijing signed an agreement to expand the use of national currencies in trade deals between them.

Russia is now seeking China’s support in developing a new financial system for the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russian-led trade bloc, CNS News said.

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