60% of Russian exports now go to Asia – finance minister

Most of Moscow's exports are going to China, according to Anton Siluanov

Russia is rerouting most of its exports from the EU to Asian countries, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Lan Foan, on Monday.

In response to Western sanctions, Russia has been diversifying its foreign trade, including energy supplies. Moscow is now “at the stage of reorienting its export flows to friendly countries,” primarily to China, Siluanov said.

“Today our exports to Asian countries amount to almost 60%, while some time ago this figure was twice lower,” the minister said at the Russia-China Financial Dialogue forum in Beijing.

“Imports of goods from China into our country have also increased significantly, which is extremely important for us,” Siluanov added.

According to the minister, Western currencies have been almost completely phased out in Russia-China trade, as the countries have set up the necessary financial infrastructure to settle transactions.

READ MORE: Russia-China energy trade soaring – deputy PM

“In our trade, more than 90% of turnover is carried out in national currencies, in the Chinese yuan and Russian rubles,” Siluanov said. He added that mutual trade is booming despite outside pressure and the “fragmentation of the global economy.”

According to Chinese customs data, the trade volume with Russia increased by 26.7% in the first 11 months of 2023, amounting to a record $218.17 billion.

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