World meat industry news

A senior representative of Russia’s top bank, Sberbank, has said his country is ready to expand the use of national currencies in settlements as well as boost cooperation in trade and investment with Chinese partners, Xinhua reports.

In an interview with the Chinese news agency, Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank’s Executive Board, said the expansion of the use of national currencies in bilateral settlements is an integral step in the further development of bilateral relations between Russia and China.

“In the current international situation, settlements in rubles and yuans between Russian and Chinese companies can guarantee the stability of cross-border settlements in the framework of trade and economic cooperation,” Popov said.

Meanwhile, advancing settlements in national currencies is also helpful to achieving the long-term strategic goals of the Russia-China economic cooperation, such as greater volume of bilateral trade, synergy of the national development strategies and increasing joint investment to the building of key infrastructures, he added.

“It will benefit the economies of both countries,” Popov said. “They can receive a new impetus for development.”

According to Popov, Sberbank actively maintains close partnerships with leading players in various segments of the Chinese financial market, especially those banks operating in the provinces bordering Russia.

“We are interested in developing interbank cooperation of settlement in national currencies with Chinese partners in all areas of business,” he said.

Noting that China has remained as Russia’s largest trading partner for years, Popov said the two countries should create “even more comfortable conditions” for their exporters and importers, so as to achieve the target of 200 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade volume by 2024.