Chongqing -  As global alliances shift and economic relations are restructured, Russia and China are building a more autonomous financial architecture that reduces reliance on Western currencies and bypasses legacy payment systems. At the heart of this transformation is the increasing use of national currencies in cross-border trade.

Since 2022, Russia has dramatically curtailed its use of the U.S. dollar and euro in trade. Today, more than 90% of Russian–Chinese transactions are settled in rubles and yuan. This shift is supported by institutional cooperation, direct currency swap mechanisms, and a significant expansion of yuan liquidity within Russia’s financial system.

China is now Russia's largest trading partner, and bilateral trade reached a record $245 billion in 2024. This financial realignment is no longer theoretical—it’s already reshaping the future.

This report features insights from Sergey Sharonov, vice president of Solidarnost Bank, one of the key pioneers behind this new model. Sharonov explains how the ruble–yuan financial corridor already works in practice.

(Zhou Junjie, as an intern, also contributed to the report.)