Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak claimed that energy trade with China had increased by 64 percent in monetary terms and by 10 percent in physical terms, while speaking in Moscow on Friday.
“Our trade turnover in the energy sector has increased significantly, it has grown by about 64 percent in monetary terms. If we talk about physical terms, this is about a 10 percent increase in both oil, gas, coal, and electricity supplies. And, of course, we are focused on future development, ” he said.
In addition, the deputy prime minister stressed that Russia and China are switching to paying for energy supplies in rubles and yuan.
“We are switching to settlements in national currencies – both in rubles and in yuan – for the supplied energy resources, mutual settlements that occur, including for the supply of equipment from China. As an example: gas supplies today between Gazprom and the People’s Republic of China are carried out on a parity basis in rubles and in yuan,” Novak added.
On September 15, on the sidelines of the SCO-2022 summit in Samarkand, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia, Mongolia and China should switch to national payment platforms in order to secure settlements between the three states from “external, including political, risks.”
On September 6, Gazprom announced that the company had signed additional agreements with the Chinese CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) on switching payments for gas supplies via the Power of Siberia pipeline to the ruble and yuan in a 50-50 ratio. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that this would simplify the payment and give impetus to the development of the economies of both countries.
