- The yuan’s share in payments for Russian exports has halved to 22% this year, and Russia now receives rubles for 69% of its exports in trade with Asia, highlighting the difficulties in finding an alternative global currency
- The move away from the yuan has left Russian businesses facing problems with cross-border payments over secondary sanctions, with transactions becoming slower, more expensive, and less predictable due to the need to use intermediaries and more complex payment routes
- Meanwhile, Russia’s sales of gold to China have tripled year-on-year in the first nine months 2026, and jumped more than 55 times compared to the pre-war period, reaching 165 tons
…
Despite rising trade with China, the yuan’s share in payments for Russian exports has halved this year to 22% from its peak in mid-2024 when the US widened secondary sanctions, according to the latest Russian central bank data. In trade with Asia, Russia now receives rubles for 69% of its exports.
Russia’s experience represents an unprecedented experiment that ultimately showed the limitations of President Xi Jinping’s ambition to turn the yuan into a “powerful currency” for international trade, financial markets and central banks’ reserves. Chinese officials, however, have been equally clear they aren’t trying to turn the yuan into a replacement for the dollar, as Beijing keeps tight capital controls to guard currency flows.
Russia’s shift came after Chinese banks retreated in the face of threatened US secondary sanctions over the war in Ukraine. It demonstrates the US’ ability to enforce its political will, even with the world’s second-largest economy — and emphasizes the dollar’s global dominance.
…
Meanwhile, Russia continues to increase gold exports to China, which became the main export market for precious metals from Russia after the outbreak of war and the introduction of Western sanctions.
In January-September, Hong Kong received 165 tons of gold bars of Russian origin, according to customs statistics, the Center for Economic Forecasting of Russia’s Gazprombank.
“Hong Kong is a free port without duties and VAT on gold and a direct access to the Chinese market, which did not impose sanctions against Russian gold,” analysts write. The path to the West for Russian precious metals was closed in 2022, when the London Association of Precious Metals Market Participants (LBMA) excluded Russian refineries from the list of suppliers, and the G7 countries banned imports. The first trading hub for the Russian metal was Dubai, but the UAE, under pressure from the United States and the United Kingdom, tightened control over the gold trade.
…